“It’s something that words can’t even describe. God has put me in this position that I’m so blessed with, and a lot of times I wonder why. But it’s such an honor to be up here. It’s unbelievable,” 2017 Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield spoke on how he felt when he became the sixth Oklahoma University player to win the high achievement award. Since winning the trophy and joining the National Football League (NFL), Mayfield has made a name for himself in both a positive and negative way.
Being the number one draft pick of the first round in 2018, Mayfield joined the Cleveland Browns. During his rookie season, Mayfield brought fame back to Cleveland after playing in his first NFL game in Week 3 against the New York Jets. Mayfield replaced the then injured quarterback for Cleveland.
The Browns were down 14-0. During the game, Mayfield completed 17 of 23 passes, passing for 201 yards and helping the Browns win 21-17. This ended the Browns winless streak of 19 games straight, which lasted 635 days. His rookie season continued to improve as he became the new starting quarterback for the Browns.
Two of the most famous games of the season happened during Weeks 10 and 11. Playing against the Atlanta Falcons, Mayfield threw 216 yards, three touchdowns and ended with a passer rating of 151.2. The Browns won that game with a score of 28-16. The following week, he led the Browns to their first win on the road since the 2015 season against the Cincinnati Bengals. During the game, he completed 19 of 26 passes for 258 yards and four touchdowns.
At the end of the season, Mayfield helped the Browns get to a record of 7-8-1 which was the most wins the team had since 2014. Finishing with 3,725 passing yards, he passed both Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson for the most touchdowns thrown in a rookie season: 27 touchdowns. All eyes have been on Mayfield since his debut and unfortunately, he has run into some controversial situations that have made him a disliked player.
This past August, Mayfield faced backlash over a comment over another player in the league. The comment was taken out of context and made Mayfield look overly confident about himself and his team. According to CBS Sports, Mayfield was speaking with Clay Skipper, interviewing for an article for Tuesday’s GQ Feature, when he caught a glimpse of an ESPN segment about the New York Giants.
Mayfield said, “I cannot believe the Giants took Daniel Jones. Blows my mind.” Because of his comment, the feature was centered around what he said and his confidence. He then posted a response on Instagram regarding his comment, saying that reporters would do anything to come up with a clickbait story.
The comment was taken in a more negative way because of another comment Mayfield made about the Giants. Recently, the Giants traded their player Odell Beckham, Jr. for the Browns’ player Jabrill Peppers. Mayfield called out the Giants fans for not supporting Beckham in the transfer and said, “He’s here to work and he wants to be surrounded by people who love and support him and allow him to be himself.”
Mayfield is one of those players who fans love, hate or have no idea who he is. Based on his statistics, Mayfield has always been a great football player and decision-maker on the field. Fans, including myself, are excited to see what he will do for the upcoming football season and hopes he will bring the Browns to their first playoff game since 1989.
