Cleveland Browns: Comprehensive 2018 NFL Draft review

Baker Mayfield, QB – Oklahoma

The top pick of the draft, Baker Mayfield’s selection was shrouded in mystery until the very last day of the draft. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner is one of the most accomplished quarterbacks ever to play college football and the best in Oklahoma program history.

Athletic Profile

Age: 23 years old (Born Apr. 14, 1995)

Height: 6-0.625
Weight: 215 lbs
40 Yard Dash: 4.84s
Broad Jump: 9’3″
Vertical: 29″
3-Cone: 7s
Shuttle: 4.28s
Hand Size: 9.25″
Radar Gun: 57mph

His height is what draws the most attention as he is shorter than ideal. Beyond that, everything else clears the threshold for a franchise quarterback even if they aren’t top of the line. Nothing else is a concern even if they could be better.

His hand size is on the smallish side, but not too small, though Browns general manager John Dorsey claims he measured it at 9.75 inches. Occasionally, balls will come out of his hand and flutter on him and this might suggest an issue losing his grip, which is something Mayfield will need to fight to minimize.

From a velocity standpoint, Mayfield is fantastic and finished second in the draft class among those that tested. His arm strength is excellent and he really does well in terms of syncing up his body to maximize his power in terms of RPMs and driving the ball down the field.

Production

Career Starts: 48

Passing Stats: 68.5 completion percentage, 9.75 yards per attempt, 10.6 adjusted yards per attempt, 131 touchdowns, 30 interceptions (4.36:1), 304.3 yards per game.
Rushing Statistics: 1,079 yards at 2.67 yards per carry and 21 rushing touchdowns.

From a production and efficiency standpoint, Mayfield is one of the best to ever do it. His 2016 season was the most efficient in college football history. Then, with an almost completely different supporting cast, he broke that record in 2017. Not surprisingly, his career is also the most efficient in history.

QBase, another measure of quarterback efficiency, rated Mayfield as the fourth best they’ve ever graded and gives him a 28.2 percent change to be an elite quarterback.

While many are quick to handout potential on what a player might do or theoretically can do, it’s far more grounded in reality to base it on what a player has done. As a result, the sky is the limit for Mayfield in the NFL and he could be a multiple time All-Pro in his NFL career.

Game Tape

Mayfield’s overall arm strength is excellent and his accuracy can be lights out. His ball placement can be inconsistent and the sometimes big passing windows at Oklahoma didn’t force him to be precise as often as ideal.

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His throwing motion is pretty flawless and his footwork is good, but his stance can be a bit wider than ideal, but isn’t problematic. Mayfield is very good at throwing from a consistently effective throwing platform and is rarely forced into a throw where he can’t get into a good position.

Mayfield is very good at reading coverages, manipulating opponents with his eyes and understanding what teams are trying to do against him. He creates opportunities for his teammates and makes passing windows bigger.

There’s no throw Mayfield can’t make, but he needs to be more consistent at all of them, having some misses he shouldn’t. Often times, that’s due to the ball coming out high or coming out of his hand funky and fluttering on him.

Mayfield is better on the road and when the stakes are highest. His decision making, which is usually good anyway, seems to get better. He shows remarkable poise at the position and was consistently the best player on the field in every game he played, even against some extremely talented opponents.

He is best in the pocket and while he’s often labeled as a quarterback that has to play on the move, he doesn’t move as much as people think. In the pocket, Mayfield will maneuver around his blockers so they aren’t forced to change their blocks or adjust to what he’s doing. And there are examples where Mayfield makes little movements to keep opponents off balance but remains in the pocket.

Obviously, Mayfield has shown the ability to play on the move going to his right, attacking the line of scrimmage and keeping his eyes up, always looking for receivers. Mayfield can run, isn’t terribly fast but does have some ability to make opponents miss. Occasionally, he’ll take some hits he shouldn’t and even to prove a point, but he does get down and run out of bounds to avoid unnecessary hits.

Most of Mayfield’s mistakes in the passing game come as a result of being late on passes, particularly going deep. When he’s on time and in rhythm, he’s difficult to stop and makes everyone on the offense better and has shown able to do that with almost entirely different supporting casts while maintaining his elite level of play.

Fit, Usage and Projection with the Browns

Mayfield’s their man at quarterback and it’s largely a question of when. The Browns seem intent on having him sit his rookie year with Tyrod Taylor as their starting quarterback. And while Mayfield looks ready to play now, it’s valuable to have that cushion so if Mayfield isn’t ready, he doesn’t need to be. And even if he is, he can gain valuable insight that would hopefully help him hit the ground running when he does get in there.

Taylor has never made it through a full season as a starting quarterback. Maybe this will be the year he does it, but both his history and that of the Browns suggest fans will get a look at Mayfield this season and hopefully it will be a similar taste as the Kansas City Chiefs got with Pat Mahomes last year, where John Dorsey was the general manager last year.

Whenever becomes the full time starter, Mayfield has a chance to be special. He’s got the potential to be a multiple time All-Pro and end the drought of awful quality quarterback play in Cleveland.