5 reasons Browns can win the Super Bowl this year

1. Baker Mayfield is poised to become a star

In order to win a Super Bowl in the modern era, you need a franchise quarterback. After years of searching for one and going through the likes of Tim Couch, Derek Anderson, and Johnny Manziel the Browns may finally have their man.

From the moment Mayfield was drafted in Cleveland, Browns’ fans felt like he was the answer to all of their prayers. Mayfield immediately won the hearts of the Dawg Pound when he came off the bench in Week 3 to beat the Jets and guide the Browns to their first win in well over a calendar year.

Mayfield struggled a bit in the middle of the season, but he took off once head coach Hue Jackson was fired. The promotion of Freddie Kitchens to offensive coordinator helped spark the Browns’ offense, which put up points in bunches down the stretch.

A lot of that credit goes to Mayfield, who took a huge step forward in terms of his ability to read defenses and make good decisions. The Browns became a scary offense down the stretch, and that was even before they added Kareem Hunt and Odell Beckham Jr in the offseason.

Now Mayfield has Kitchens as his head coach, some fun new toys to play with on offense, and the potential to take a massive leap forward in his second year as a pro. The second year leap was enough to see fellow AFC North star Ben Roethlisberger win a Super Bowl in Pittsburgh, and the Browns have every reason to believe Mayfield is poised to ascend to star status now.