Browns trade Baker Mayfield: Former No. 1 pick tops list of Cleveland QB's taken in the first round since 1999 Baker Mayfield's time...
Browns trade Baker Mayfield: Former No. 1 pick tops list of Cleveland QB's taken in the first round since 1999
Baker Mayfield's time in Cleveland finally came to an end on Wednesday, when he was traded to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for a conditional fifth-round pick. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Mayfield's stay in Cleveland was just four years and 62 games.
Mayfield joins the list of former first-round quarterbacks who were selected by the Browns after returning to the NFL in 1999. While his career at Cleveland left something to be desired, Mayfield undoubtedly enjoyed more success with the Browns than the previous four first-round quarterbacks who led him. Now that his time with Cleveland is over, let's take a look at where Mayfield's career ranks with the team's second first-round pick in the past two-plus decades.
1. Baker Mayfield (2018-21)
No surprise here. Mayfield started 6–7 as a rookie while quarterbacking the team-leading United 1–31 over the past two seasons. He had a rookie record of 27 touchdown passes that year until it was surpassed by Justin Herbert in 2020.
Mayfield and Brown underperformed in 2019, but they made up for it more in 2020. Despite Odell Beckham missing most of the year with an injury, Mayfield realized the potential that was evident during his rookie campaign. As well as throwing the second-most yards for a season in Brown's history (only Bernie Koser's 1986 season was more prolific), Mayfield threw three times more touchdowns (26) than interceptions (8) during the regular season. While leading the Browns to 11 wins, the most since the 1994 season. Mayfield then threw three touchdown passes in Cleveland's wild-card win over Pittsburgh, the franchise's first playoff victory in a quarter-century.
Like 2019, the 2021 season was going to be a trying one for Mayfield and his teammates. But despite dealing with multiple injuries, Mayfield made 14 starts (winning six of them) while throwing for 3,000 yards with more touchdowns (17) than picks (13).
2. Tim Couch (1999-03)
1 pick in the '99 Draft, Couch had the incredible task of leading an expanding franchise. Complicating the task was the fact that Couch and the Browns shared a division with two teams - Baltimore and Pittsburgh - which included upcoming defenses that would dominate the league well into the next decade.
The Browns won just five games in the first two years, with Couch being the starter for all but one of them. Things changed rapidly in 2001 when Butch Davis was hired after the Miami Hurricanes were brought back to national prominence. Couch led the Browns to a 7-9 record in 2021, while becoming the fourth QB in franchise history to score more than 3,000 yards in a season.
Couch and Brown were even better the following seasons. Couch, who recorded the second-highest single-season completion percentage in franchise history that season, propelled the Browns to the franchise's first playoff berth since returning to the NFL. But with a couch injury, backup quarterback Kelly Holcomb threw for 429 yards in a 36–33 playoff loss to Pittsburgh.
Holcomb's performance that day sparked a quarterback controversy that was never fully resolved. In 2003, none of the players played to their potential, causing the Browns to break the 6–10 record. The couch was released after the season and would never play in regular-season games again after suffering rotator cuff and shoulder injuries.
3. Brady Quinn (2007-09)
Quinn arrived in Cleveland after a decorated career at Notre Dame. He sat largely on the bench as a rookie before making three starts in 2008. In 2009, Quinn found himself embroiled in a quarterback feud with Derek Anderson. Quinn made 10 starts that season, going 2-8 in Week 14 before suffering a season-ending injury.
Quinn had three memorable moments during the '09 season. In a Week 10 loss to the Lions, Quinn became the first Browns quarterback to throw three touchdowns in one quarter. Two weeks later, he threw 271 yards and three touchdowns in a loss to the Chargers. The following week, Quinn debuted during the Browns' 13–6 win over the Steelers, which essentially knocked Pittsburgh out of playoff contention.
Cleveland eventually decided to commit to Anderson (who led the Browns to a 10–6 record in 2010), while trading Quinn to the Broncos. Quinn never started in Denver, but he made eight starts in 2012 as a member of the Chiefs. He would later have brief stints with the Seahawks, Jets, Rams and Dolphins.
4. Brandon Weeden (2012-13)
A former minor league baseball player, Weeden was 28 when the Browns made him the 22nd overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. He went 5–10 as the Browns' starter that season while throwing for 3,385 yards with 14 touchdowns and 17 picks.
Weeden won the starting job in 2013 over Brian Hoyer, but injuries limited him to just five games in 2013. Weeden went 0–5 as a starter the following season, throwing several touchdowns (9) as interceptions. Released the following off-season, Weiden made three starts in Dallas and another for the Texans over the next two seasons. Weeden did not attempt a pass in 2018 for the Texans in his final year in NFL uniform.
5. Johnny Manziel (2014-15)
The polarizing, former winner of the Heisman Trophy made just eight starts in two years with the Browns. After two terrible starts as a rookie (Hoyer inexplicably threw the Browns into the starting lineup at the end of the year despite a 7–6 start), Manziel made his first game as a starter in Week 2 of the 2015 season. Won. In a 30-9 loss at Pittsburgh in Week 10, Manziel set a career-high by completing 33 passes for 372 yards. He won his next start four weeks later, in a 24–10 victory over the 49ers, who threw him for 270 yards with a touchdown and an interception. It would serve as the pinnacle of Manziel's NFL career.
In the next two matches, Manziel completed only 50% of his throws as the Browns lost both competitions by a combined score of 47–26. Manziel was inactive for the Browns' regular-season finale, but reports quickly emerged that he was in Las Vegas during game weekends instead of being with the team. Also, off-field issues resulted in his release that off-season. The floor was never picked up by any other NFL team.
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