Name: Brady Quinn: Baker Mayfield will be a top 10 QB in 2020 and ‘playoffs this year, baby’
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Brady Quinn: Baker Mayfield will be a top 10 QB in 2020 and ‘playoffs this year, baby’

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NEW!158sharesCLEVELAND, Ohio — This is the second installment of our ‘Baker Mayfield: Turning Toward ’20’ series in which we’re talking to experts about the outlook for Mayfield heading into his crucial third season. In this interview, we talk to Browns former first-round quarterback Brady Quinn, who believes that Mayfield will live up to his No. 1 overall status this year and snap the Browns’ 17-year playoff drought.“I think he’s going to have kind of a breakout year,’’ Quinn told cleveland.com. “I don’t know if you’d consider his rookie year kind of that, considering he set the rookie quarterback touchdown record, but I really do feel like this year is going to be a big jump for him. In watching him last year, he didn’t play as well as he needed to, but it was also a lot of things around him. So I’m kind of looking for that jump, not only for him but from the entire team because he’s going to have a better offensive line, a better running game [and more].’’A college and NFL analyst for Fox Sports and CBS Sports HQ and co-host of “The Blitz’’ on Sirius XM NFL Radio, Quinn is confident that Mayfield will claw his way up from No. 31 in the NFL to a top 10 spot and that he’ll take the Browns to the playoffs for only the second time in the new era.“There’s no doubt [he can be top 10],’’ Quinn said. “He’s got the talent, and he’s got the ability around him, and it’s now just being able to put it together in the first year in a system in a division where he’s got to face two of the top 10 and maybe top 5 defenses four times. "The division plays a factor too. It’s not like he’s playing in the AFC East now. But there’s no doubt I think he can be that guy.’’In fact, Quinn defended Mayfield last week against the criticism of CBS analyst Ryan Wilson, who predicted that Chargers quarterback Tyrod Taylor could have a better season than the 2018 No. 1 overall pick.“That would lead to this conversation: Who are the Browns going to take with the top five pick at quarterback. You know it will happen,’’ Wilson posted on Twitter. “The honeymoon is over in Cleveland if Baker doesn’t catch fire and return to the glory we saw his rookie season.”Quinn, the No. 22 overall pick by the Browns in 2007, replied “Don’t come at my Browns like that! Playoffs this year baby. Take that to the bank!”A lifelong Browns fan and Columbus, Ohio, native who’s continued to watch the team closely, Quinn believes Mayfield will benefit tremendously from coach Kevin Stefanski’s play-action-based offense and wide-zone scheme.“If you look at Stefanski’s system and a lot of the outside zone running scheme, a lot of the play action and the boots and the things off of that, they create a lot of space for you to be able to make some — I don’t want to say easy throws — but easier throws, downfield in some bigger windows,’’ Quinn said. “So Odell [Beckham Jr.] and Jarvis [Landry] when he’s healthy and everyone else, whether it’s Rashard Higgins, or David Njoku, all of those guys are going to be beneficiaries of this system and of the way they run the football and utilize Nick Chubb. I’m really looking for the entire offense — not just Baker — to really kind of take that next step.’’Quinn noted that the increased emphasis on the run game alone with take pressure off Mayfield, who tumbled to second-last in the NFL in 2019 in completion percentage (78.8), interceptions (21) and completion percentage (59.4).“If you’re going to expect your quarterback in today’s game, where there’s a decisive athletic advantage to the defensive front, to sit back there and be able to wing from the pocket consistently, you’re dead wrong,’’ he said. “You have to have some semblance of balance and be able to utilize arguably one of your best players. I think Nick Chubb’s been underutilized this entire time in Cleveland.’’He believes that offensive line coach Bill Callahan, whom Quinn believes is one of the best in the league, will be one of Mayfield’s biggest assets this season in terms of protecting him and running the ball.“That scheme from [Vikings offensive coordinator] Gary Kubiak descends from [Mike] Shanahan too and basically when you look at what San Francisco does, everything they do mirrors something else,’’ he said. “If they’ve got a run in from a certain personnel and a certain formation, they’ve got a pass off of that, or a boot off of that or a screen off of that. They have a variety of concepts that they can use from any personnel group, from any formation, and they’re going to throw the whole thing at you.’’He said the defense can’t determine which of three or four plays they’ll run, “so those guys can’t really play as aggressive and they can’t get a bead on what the offense is doing. That’s one of the reasons why it’s so effective whether it’s from the outside running scheme, their zone blocking scheme, or just the playcalling in general.’’* About those INTsQuinn absolved Mayfield from a lot of blame for his 21 picks, second only to former Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston’s 30.“He had an offense that introduced some new pieces,’’ he said. “You’re trying to get on the same page with a wide receiver and people tend to think it happens over one offseason. To be elite in the NFL, it takes years of that, being able to understand a guy’s body language and develop that rapport. "Could that maybe have been a little bit of it, maybe not seeing Odell play quite as well? Was it a potential of him not being 100%? I do think those things play a bit of a role.’’He explained that Mayfield had no choice but to force the issue at times when things were going bad.“When your offensive line isn’t protecting as well and when your defense is putting you in some tough spots, you have to press,’’ he said. “You have to take chances, because otherwise, what do you want him to do? Check it down and let the game end? How many of those interceptions came when they needed him to make a play but it ends up being intercepted. You don’t see the best teams in the NFL put their quarterbacks in that situation that often.’’He cautioned that interceptions can be a function to what’s being asked of the player.“Everyone’s making a big deal about Jameis Winston and his 30 interceptions, but he did lead the league in passing yards,’’ Quinn said. “He was second in the league in touchdown passes. So with those high-risk throws, there comes some reward and you’d like to find a balance of that, but a lot of times that’s not necessarily going to come in year one depending on how much the offensive philosophy changed.’’Quinn also believes one of the best weapons for a QB is a great defense, and Mayfield didn’t have that last year, especially in the second half of the season when Myles Garrett was suspended and Olivier Vernon was out with a knee injury. Among other things, the defense managed only 20 takeaways, tied for 19th in the NFL.“If they want to be elite, and if they want to try to win the AFC North, you have to be able to play good defense like Pittsburgh and Baltimore,’’ Quinn said. “I’d like to see them not put so much pressure on Baker and have those guys play up their capability because they’ve done a good job drafting. "Now it’s about developing. Now it’s about those guys really maturing and growing and becoming the defense they’re capable of being.’’* Changing the footworkQuinn admitted that offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt changing Mayfield’s footwork at this point in his career — specifically having him lead with his left foot in the shotgun and on shorter, three-step drops — can be incredibly difficult.“The fact that we’re dealing with Covid-19 allows you to basically be singularly focused on some of that footwork,’’ Quinn said. “Alex Van Pelt comes from that West Coast system where timing and footwork and those things are imperative. You might be watching from film from last year and saying, ‘Hey, if you get this ball out on your first hitch, maybe it’s not an interception. Or maybe it’s a completion or at worst an incompletion but instead you took a second hitch and you hung on the guy or you waited too long.’’’He said he didn’t necessarily notice a problem with Mayfield’s footwork last season when he was struggling.“His footwork has always been kind of unique just from watching him at Oklahoma, and granted it’s kind of different in the college system how much they’re running from shotgun and things they’re doing but he’s always had good feet,’’ Quinn said. “He’s a good athlete and he keeps a great base. There are times when you saw him move when he didn’t have to or holding the ball longer than he needed to, but a lot of that has to do with getting to know the guy you’re throwing to and also just his maturation process as a quarterback.“He hasn’t started two full seasons, so he’s still getting those games under his belt and still trusting what he’s seeing out there and trusting how he’s anticipating things.’’* Pinpoint accuracyMayfield’s pinpoint accuracy always stood out to Quinn, and will resurface this season, Quinn said.“He’s deadly accurate,’’ Quinn said. “I was combing through his throws preparing for the Big 12 championship game vs. TCU and I said on the broadcast, ‘he’s one of the most accurate passers of any level that I’ve ever seen.’ We kept going through game after game after game and a lot of people will say, ‘Well it’s Lincoln Riley’s system’ or ‘It’s the Big 12, they don’t play defense.’ I’m like ‘Dude, he had like four incompletions and even those four incompletions he put it in a spot where his wide receiver got a hand on the ball, but it was away from the defender and maybe should’ve been caught.’’He doesn’t believe Mayfield has lost his biggest strength, which was on full display as a rookie.“As he gets more comfortable with the protection, with what he’s seeing from the wide receivers he’s throwing to, and all of that, I think he’ll keep building upon that confidence and continue to be one of the more accurate passers in the league.’’* Camp MayfieldQuinn applauded Mayfield for hosting a throwing session last week in his hometown of Austin, Texas, but said that’s expected of him.“Look, everyone’s doing it right now,’’ he said. “You talk to any quarterback that’s a franchise guy, that’s what they’re doing and I think he’s putting himself in the right position and putting the team in the right position once they’re able to practice together. They’re not going to be starting from scratch. It shouldn’t be as rough as a transition. But to be blunt, every single team is doing that in some capacity.’’He said it’s the same thing he did in Denver and Colt McCoy did for the Browns during the lockout year of 2011.“To be honest, if you’re not doing that, you’re not keeping up with everyone else,’’ he said. “You’re really getting a step behind.’’* Four coordinators in three seasonsQuinn believes the fact that Mayfield is on his fourth coordinator in three seasons — Todd Haley, Freddie Kitchens, Todd Monken and Van Pelt — is overstated.“When you fire a coach midseason, you’re not changing the offense,’’ he said. “You’re changing the guy who’s calling plays, but you can’t wholesale change the system. I don’t know how much the terminology changed from his first year to his second year either (with Kitchens running Haley’s scheme). This year, I’d say there’s probably a fair amount of turnover and change and everything he’s going through.’’He cautioned, however, against judging Mayfield too harshly this year in his first season in this scheme. But as everyone knows, the Browns must decide after this season on his fifth-year option and can sign him to that blockbuster second contract.“At the end of this year, you should have a good idea of what Baker is capable of doing,’’ he said. “But another offense again, with a different guy calling the plays, that’s the complicated part. That’s the hard part for Stefanski but also [Chiefs Strategy Officer] Paul DePodesta and [GM] Andrew Berry and everyone else who’s going to be evaluating him is, you have to be more patient."You have to give this more time because if you try to make an irrational decision if this year doesn’t go as well as you want it to go, you might miss out on signing him to that long-term deal that he might prove in his fourth year that’s he’d deserving of.’’Quinn is so bullish on Mayfield, he expects him to have the season this year that he and everyone expected last year in the Season of Great Expectations.“Last year, I thought they’d go 10-6,’’ Quinn. “I was wrong. It was the opposite. But I think maybe I was just a year off and maybe everything they went through last year will help galvanize this group and they will be that 10-6 team this year.’’New Browns face masks for sale: More Browns coverageNote to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.

NEW!158sharesCLEVELAND, Ohio — This is the second installment of our ‘Baker Mayfield: Turning Toward ’20’ series in which we’re talking to experts about the outlook for Mayfield heading into his crucial third season. In this interview, we talk to Browns former first-round quarterback Brady Quinn, who believes that Mayfield will live up to his No. 1 overall status this year and snap the Browns’ 17-year playoff drought.“I think he’s going to have kind of a breakout year,’’ Quinn told cleveland.com. “I don’t know if you’d consider his rookie year kind of that, considering he set the rookie...

Brady Quinn: Baker Mayfield will be a top 10 QB in 2020 and ‘playoffs this year, baby’

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