Baker Mayfield put together a historic rookie season with the Browns, and for the first time in, well, Browns history, Cleveland fans have legitimate reason to get excited about their NFL team.
But there was a time when Mayfield expected to be the one to replace Tom Brady with the New England Patriots.
No, really.
In a feature story from ESPN, Mayfield claimed that he had no idea the Browns were going to draft him up until the day before the draft. What he had heard, though, was that the Patriots were planning a blockbuster trade to move up to the No. 2 spot where they would select Mayfield.
Via ESPN:
Until the day of the draft, Mayfield wasn’t sure the Browns would take him with the first overall pick. (For a while, he was convinced New England would trade up for him at No. 2.) He found the challenge of joining a long-struggling team — Cleveland’s last playoff appearance was in 2002 — exhilarating.
Obviously, that trade never happened, and thus far, the future is bright in Cleveland. But can you imagine if the Patriots had actually pulled the trigger on that deal? It would’ve had the Patriots’ future at the game’s most important position set for the next decade-plus.
The Giants ended up holding onto the pick to take Saquon Barkley. New England took running back Sony Michel at No. 31.
