Baker Mayfield Compares Very Well to Patrick Mahomes Over Last 2 Years

All eyes will be on the Cleveland Browns next month, as they embark on training camp and home in on their search for their starting quarterback for the 2025 NFL season. They have plenty of options to choose from, but none of them has stood out as a slam-dunk franchise gunslinger thus far in the offseason.

Will it be Shedeur Sanders, the talented, albeit troubled rookie who tumbled to the fifth round due to his combination of character concerns and lack of clear-cut star power to compensate for the sideshow that comes with him? Maybe it'll be Dillon Gabriel, the third-round selection out of Oregon, who became an afterthought after Cleveland drafted a much more famous quarterback 50 picks later. Perhaps neither of the rookies will be ready to take over the Browns' offense, and the job will go to one of the veterans in Joe Flacco or Kenny Pickett instead.

It's unfortunate that Cleveland is desperately searching for a new cornerstone under center just three years after trading a massive haul that included three first-round picks for Deshaun Watson and signing him to a five-year, $230 million contract. Watson could theoretically return from his Achilles injury in time to take the field at some point in this upcoming season, but, even when healthy, his play has made it abundantly clear that he's not the savior the Browns were looking for when they originally swung the deal.

On top of the abysmal Watson era in Cleveland, the Browns could also have deep regrets for giving up on the quarterback they had before him: Baker Mayfield. They originally took him first overall in the 2018 draft, and he quickly rose the ranks of the team's all-time passer stats. To this day, he sits fourth in passing yards and fifth in touchdowns for the franchise.

However, he struggled heavily in the 2021 season, due to a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder. Between his 13 interceptions, the Browns' 6-8 record in his starts, and his reported immaturity in the locker room, Cleveland elected to let him walk in the 2022 offseason, opting instead to make their fateful deal for Deshaun Watson.

Since Mayfield left the Browns, he bounced around the league a bit before finding a new home with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ahead of the 2023 season. In the past two years, he's made it known that he can compete with the best gunslingers in the league, as evidenced by this viral Twitter post comparing him to Patrick Mahomes: