The Cleveland Browns selected Baker Mayfield No. 1 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. We all remember that, right? Mayfield has since left Cleveland and, following brief stints with the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams, found a new long-term home with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In Tampa, Mayfield has thrived and found a franchise that believes in him – something he never had with the Browns. Mayfield has made the Pro Bowl in both his seasons with the Bucs. It's safe to say Mayfield has moved on from Cleveland, but can the same be said about the Browns?
Much like the never-ending jersey featuring quarterback nameplates since the Browns returned to Cleveland in 1999, the team's current QB room is a lot to digest. The Browns traded for Kenny Pickett, signed Joe Flacco and drafted Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. Oh, and Deshaun Watson remains under contract! I almost forgot about that one. Pickett and Flacco are seemingly leading the pack for now, with Pickett being a former first-round pick for the rival Steelers and Flacco leading the rival Ravens to a Super Bowl in 2013.
Why do the Browns want Kenny Pickett to emulate Baker Mayfield?
If the younger Pickett rightly won the job and showed some of the promise the Steelers once saw in him as a first-round pick out of Pitt, that would be the best-case scenario. Either Pickett would become trade bait once Watson returns or one of the rookies steps up, or he'd straight-up replace Deshaun when his contract is up. In order to achieve one of those goals, the Browns want Pickett to follow Mayfield's lead – though they didn't directly say it what way.
"[Kevin Stefanski] talked about Kenny Pickett and his talent, and feeling like they can develop more out of him, as well," NFL Network analyst Cameron Wolfe said. "We've seen in the past, Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, sort of get a career resurgence, and there's a belief they can do some off that with Kevin Stefanski."
Kevin Stefanski has more to prove than Kenny Pickett
The only issue for Pickett is that Stefanski has done little to show he's capable of reviving any quarterback's career. The Browns hired Stefanski back in 2020, so he literally had a young Mayfield under center at one point. He's also coached Watson, who was an All-Pro talent when the Browns acquired him before his career evaporated before our very eyes. It's hard to blame Stefanski for Watson's downward spiral, but what about Jameis Winston or Dorian Thompson-Robinson? Some of these players never had the potential of a Pickett, but others certainly did.
It's ironic that the Browns solution to their quarterback problem is to find another version of Mayfield, a player they chased off in favor of Watson because they wanted an adult in the room. As it turns out, the kids table was better anyway.