NFL Awards 2018: Saquon Barkley vs. Baker Mayfield for Rookie of the Year

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield may have something to say about New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley winning Rookie of the Year.

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley is silencing doubters who criticized the organization for using the second overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft on a ball-carrier rather than on a potential franchise quarterback. And he’s flirting with turning any competition for Rookie of the Year honors into a one-man race.

Barkley enters Week 15 second in yards from scrimmage, per Pro-Football-Reference, behind only Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott. The first-year pro seems to improve with each week. He’s even an in-game coach!

To steal from the great Lee Corso: Not so fast, my friends. Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield has become a sensation, one who occasionally feels dangerous, since taking over under center on Sept. 20, and he has guided the 5-7-1 Browns to wins in three of the team’s past four contests heading into Week 15. Cleveland fans are dreaming of future playoff games, something unimaginable 12 months ago when the lowly Browns were headed towards a winless campaign.

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Stat nerds will say Barkley should run away with the award. That’s fine, but it also ignores both men have broken through walls and cleared hurdles their debut seasons. It’s not a stretch to suggest both could be even further into their developments this holiday season had their clubs not failed them during the summer and early into the campaign.

It took the Giants roughly half the year to assemble a respectable, let alone decent, offensive line, and that unit was the worst in the league throughout the opening month or two of the season.

Before hitting 100+ rushing yards in each of the past four games, Barkley reached triple digits running the ball only twice. Granted, he’s also on his way to accumulating 100 receptions, but it’s possible he’d be leading the league in rushing yards if New York’s current starting o-line took the field for the Week 1 showdown versus the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Recently, Rodger Sherman of The Ringer presented evidence that the Giants still aren’t doing everything possible to get the most out of the 21-year old back. That’s a scary thought for opposing defenses considering what Barkley accomplished from Nov. 11 through Dec. 9. Remember, also, that Odell Beckham Jr. is currently sidelined with an injury, so Barkley should see additional touches with the superstar wide receiver watching instead of playing.

Mayfield, meanwhile, was never given an opportunity to earn real first-team reps during summer training camp sessions, the preseason or Week 1 of the campaign. The Browns instead thought it best to start Tyrod Taylor despite the fact that anybody with eyes could see the rookie was the better option.

None of that prevented Mayfield from grabbing the keys to the Cleveland offense on a Thursday night in Northeast Ohio and never looking back. Since Mayfield entered that game against the New York Jets, the Browns have gone 5-6, a noteworthy achievement for any rookie signal-caller, and a downright miraculous occurrence considering his employer.

The Browns haven’t just been bad in recent years. This was the worst franchise in sports and such a punchline that ESPN’s Mike Greenberg tweeted Mayfield’s agent “should demand a trade.” Whoops.

One can’t tell the story of Mayfield’s importance without mentioning 0-16 or the long list of Cleveland quarterbacks who have come and gone before him. “Franchise savior” is a term sometimes used too casually by sports personalities. It doesn’t do justice to what Mayfield means to the Browns. Barkley is many things, including possibly the best running back in the business after 13 games. He’s not a savior, or least he isn’t today.

Barkley and Mayfield will forever be linked because they went No. 2 and No. 1 in the same draft class. It should be noted the Giants weren’t trading up to grab Mayfield, and also that those in charge of the Browns knew which quarterback they wanted well before making that selection official. There are no “what ifs?” here. Both front offices got the man they wanted.

Barkley will probably win Rookie of the Year because his numbers truly are ridiculous and straight out of an edition of Madden. With that said, Mayfield is more serious a threat to grab the crown and the trophy than some Giants fans may realize a week and a half before Christmas.

Mayfield finishing the season with three victories and taking the Browns to a final record of 8-7-1 could be enough for Barkley to lose hold of what would be his if votes were counted as of the typing of this sentence.