The Cleveland Browns used the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft on quarterback Baker Mayfield out of Oklahoma, but Hue Jackson isn’t expecting to see the rookie starting games in 2018. The team made a trade in the offseason with the Buffalo Bills for Tyrod Taylor, and he’s the man until proven otherwise.
Speaking about this on Monday, Jackson opened up a bit about what it will take for Mayfield to earn the starting gig.
#Browns Hue Jackson on @BullandFox on Baker vs Tyrod QB comp: "I don't look at it that way. This is going to be the future of our franchise (Baker), I'm not gonna stick him out there too soon. I think Tyrod Taylor is going to be our QB, I've committed to that"
— Keith Britton (@KeithBritton86) April 30, 2018
#Browns Hue Jackson on @BullandFox on whether Baker could win over gig: "It would have to be something that blows me away and blows the organization away…but I would like to really, really make sure that that's the case rather than creating the narrative that that's the case"
— Keith Britton (@KeithBritton86) April 30, 2018
Jackson also made it clear that Mayfield “absolutely” was, in his eyes, the top quarterback in the 2018 NFL Draft class, noting, “I thought Baker was the best fit for us and I thought he was the best quarterback in the class this year.”
We couldn’t agree more and said as much when Cleveland used its top pick to select the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner. Mayfield is the most accurate passer to come out in years, and he has natural leadership skills that you just don’t see very often. He almost always rises to the occasion and is precise under pressure.
And based on what we witnessed the past few years while Mayfield was at Oklahoma, nobody should rule him out of unseating Taylor as the starter at some point this year.