Browns remain committed to Baker Mayfield despite tempting big-name QBs available

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Despite big-name quarterbacks such as Tom Brady and Philip Rivers coming available this offseason, the Browns remain firmly committed to Baker Mayfield as their franchise quarterback and have no plans to add a veteran who will press him for the starting job.

“Obviously, I was a part of drafting Baker in 2018,’’ GM Andrew Berry said during his introductory press conference Feb. 5. “I can tell you there was kind of an organizational consensus with selecting him with the first overall pick. [We] still have a lot of belief in Baker as a quarterback, his talent and what we think he can become in the NFL.’’

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam also cited Mayfield as the reason things will be better with Berry 2.0.

“It’s a totally different situation,’’ he said after Berry’s presser. “Let’s start with we did not have a quarterback then and we have a quarterback now, and that just means a world of difference.’’

Berry’s especially excited because he knows the excellent track records Kevin Stefanski and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt have with quarterbacks, getting career seasons out of Kirk Cousins, Case Keenum and Aaron Rodgers.

“Looking forward to seeing what Kevin, Alex (Van Pelt) and his staff do with Baker this spring and into the fall,’’ Berry said. “We’re really excited about his future, and I’m really excited about the work that Kevin is going to do with him.”

It’s not that the Browns won’t add a veteran quarterback in free agency or a trade. There are some available, including Keenum and Andy Dalton, who would make great backups if the Browns decide to go that route. It’s just that they’re committed to Mayfield as their starter despite his dismal 2019 season.

“Baker, as a young player, the sky is the limit, but we’re going to put in the work to get it done with Baker,’’ Stefanski said at his introductory press conference. “Certainly, when you’re talking about this job and this franchise and everything that goes with it, you think about the quarterback. I think the sky is the limit for the kid."

Likewise, Van Pelt, who coached Dalton the past two seasons in Cincinnati and spent four seasons as Rodgers’ QB coach in Green Bay, is excited to get his hands on Mayfield, who went 3-1 against the Bengals when Van Pelt was there.

“I evaluated him as a QBs coach for the draft and I was obviously impressed,” Van Pelt said in a release when he was hired. “Playing against him for the last two years, you see the type of competitor he is, the type of player he is on the field, loves the game, plays it with passion, those are all the things you're looking for in a great player.”

Mayfield is also eager for a structured, disciplined and QB-friendly program under Stefanski after Freddie Kitchens’ haphazard system last year.

“That was the first time I really wasn’t having fun playing football,” Mayfield told the Pardon My Take podcast on Feb. 7. “So for me, it’s about getting back to square one. I love the game of football and I’m going to make it fun.’’

Mayfield also admitted he pressed last season en route to 21 interceptions, second in the NFL to Jameis Winston’s 30.

“It comes down to me doing my job,” he said on ESPN’s Get Up during Super Bowl week. “I’ve never turned the ball over so many times. ... You can’t win like that. So that falls back on me. I’ll take all the blame for that.’’

While some experts such as ESPN’s Rex Ryan have described Mayfield as overrated, others such as Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, see winning ahead.

“Do I feel like he can be a really good starting quarterback in this league? Yes I do,’’ Warner said at a Super Bowl NFL Network availability. “I do believe he’s got great potential and I like a lot of the things that I see with him. But he’s got to keep growing. He’s got to keep getting better.’’

Here are some reasons Mayfield should fare better in 2020:

1. Stefanski and Van Pelt will run a QB-friendly scheme

Cousins, Keenum, Jimmy Garoppolo and Brian Hoyer have shined in the QB-friendly West Coast, run-oriented scheme Stefanski will implement.

In Stefanski’s year as Minnesota’s full-time coordinator, Cousins went 10-6 and climbed to No. 4 in the NFL with a career-best 107.4 rating and No. 4 with a 69.1 completion percentage. He threw 26 touchdowns against only six interceptions.

In 2017, Stefanski’s first year as Vikings’ QB coach, he guided Keenum to a 11-3 record and a berth in the NFC Championship game after Sam Bradford went down with a knee injury. Keenum came in with a 9-15 record in 24 career starts, a 58.4% completion mark, a 78.4 passer rating and a TD-INT ratio of 24-20.

“[Mayfield’s] such a young player and the guys I have been around, when they put their mind to it and they start to grind on this thing and understand the whys and the concepts that we are teaching, I really think this kid has a chance to take off," he said.

2. More play-action

Despite statistics which proved Mayfield was far better in play-action than out, Kitchens used it only 28.7% of the time. That number will increase under Stefanski, who will embrace analytic input into his playcalling. Using play-action in 2019, Mayfield completed 66.5% of his passes with 11 TDs and 6 INTs en route to a 102.5 rating. Without it, he completed 56.4% of his attempts with 11 TDs, 15 INTs and a 68.8 rating. That one change alone will boost his performance considerably.

3. An upgraded offensive line

Mayfield will have better protection this season after the Browns upgrade their tackle and guard positions. Mayfield was sacked 40 times in 2019, tied for seventh in the NFL. Some came from him holding the ball too long, but he’ll also benefit from a stouter line. Two free-agent guards to keep an eye on are New England’s Joe Thuney and Washington’s Brandon Scherrf.

4. An upgraded defense

Unlike 2018, Mayfield wasn’t consistently set up with good field position by his defense last year. In his rookie season, the Browns finished second in the NFL with 31 takeaways and Mayfield often worked on a short field. Last season, the defense managed 20 takeaways, tied for 19th, and Mayfield had to earn every yard he got. The Browns will try to add ballhawking defenders in 2020 to help support the offense. Two free agent safeties to keep an eye on are the Vikings’ Anthony Harris (six picks in 2019) and the Broncos’ Justin Simmons (four picks).

So while teams are clamoring for Brady, Rivers and others, the Browns won’t be in the market.