Cleveland Browns: 3 reasons Baker Mayfield is still The Franchise QB
By Kyle Edmond
The 2020 Cleveland Browns and Baker Mayfield.
It’s easy to have recency bias as a fan. You want to see the best product now and if you aren’t, then you want changes to fix the problem. In the case of Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns, this needs to be thrown out the window for now. Look back at the 2020 edition of this team and see what can still be after an offseason to get healthy.
If you look at Mayfield’s 2020 season, the potential and talent are both clearly there. Mayfield posted a QBR of 65.5 last season, just behind Tom Brady (66.0) and Russell Wilson (67.1). Mayfield also tossed 26 touchdowns a season ago, the same amount as Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray and Matthew Stafford.
The stat that might be more impressive is that Mayfield has just 21 interceptions over the last two seasons combined. Over the same amount of time, Brady has thrown 24, Stafford has thrown 25 and Josh Allen has also thrown 25.
Like I said, it’s easy to look at this season and say that Mayfield hasn’t been up to par. However, you have to consider the injuries and look back at what he did when he was healthy. He hasn’t been able to throw confidently for majority of the season and that reflects in his stats. An offseason of recovery should help get him back to his 2020 form.