Baker Mayfield calls the challenge of joining the Cleveland Browns, which were certainly struggling before selecting him first overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, “exhilarating,” in an ESPN feature out Wednesday.
More surprisingly, the quarterback explains that in the time leading up to draft day, he did not know that the Browns planned to choose him. Mina Kimes details Mayfield’s journey as a rookie and explains that up until the morning of the day Cleveland chose the former Texas Tech walk-on and Oklahoma Heisman winner, Mayfield thought he was poised to succeed Tom Brady with the New England Patriots.
Alas, the Pats did not trade up for Mayfield and he since helped turn things around in Ohio. The Browns are now favored to win the division in 2019 after finishing 2018 one game below .500. But what a different world it’d be if Mayfield joined the powerhouse Patriots.
