NFL Draft: Grading each 2018 first-round pick after Week 11

1. Cleveland Browns: Baker Mayfield, QB

There was a ton of debate heading into the 2018 NFL Draft about who the Cleveland Browns should select. Everyone knew they needed a quarterback, but which one was the best? It seemed like the favorite was USC’s Sam Darnold, but Baker Mayfield from Oklahoma was also in the mix.

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That idea was met with a lot of kickback as people mistakenly compared him to former Cleveland flameout Johnny Manziel. The only similarities between Manziel and Mayfield were they were shorter than desired — but still, Mayfield is over 6-0 whereas Manziel was 5-10. So even that argument held very little water.

Eventually, we all learned that general manager John Dorsey didn’t buy the comparisons and he took Mayfield No. 1 overall. That wasn’t the end of the drama though.

Former head coach Hue Jackson did all he could to hold Mayfield back. He not only didn’t care if Mayfield was better than Tyrod Taylor, he also wouldn’t even give him first-team reps at all. That was foolish because Taylor was new to the team as well, meaning he was given the job sight unseen. And he was also injury prone, but Mayfield didn’t get time with the starters so when Taylor did get hurt, he had no rapport with those guys.

Thankfully, the talent Mayfield has overcome Jackson’s blunders. Hue has since been fired and Mayfield has three Rookie of the Week awards. He’s improving each and every week and is far and away superior to the other four quarterbacks taken in Round 1.

Grade: A+