At his introductory press conference, new Cleveland Browns general manager John Dorsey made it clear that finding a franchise quarterback would be his top priority.
Could Dorsey already have someone in mind?
In a conversation with Monday Morning Quarterback's Peter King, the former Kansas City Chiefs GM was asked how many times he's watched Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield. Dorsey's answer would seem to indicate that he's been impressed by the Heisman Trophy winner, as he revealed to King that he's already seen Mayfield play six times this season.
Despite being the top player in college football, Mayfield is a polarizing pro prospect. Measuring in just slightly above 6-feet tall, the senior signal-caller hardly possesses prototypical NFL size -- although that hasn't seemed to affect Dorsey's assessment.
“I want to be able to project and articulate my opinion when the time comes and it matters,” Dorsey told King. “I saw [Mayfield] at Kansas this year, in the OU-Kansas game. You’re darn right he’s a good quarterback, no matter how tall he is. Some would say he’s too short, but I would ask you: How tall is Russell Wilson? How tall is Chase Daniel?”
For what it's worth, Wilson is listed at 5-foot-11, while Daniel measures in at 6-feet. Dorsey signed Daniel as a backup in Kansas City, so he has a track record of not overlooking quarterbacks because of their height -- or lack thereof.
That's not to say Dorsey has already pinpointed Mayfield less than a week into his Cleveland tenure. With the Browns currently in line to pick first overall, he'll have his first choice of players available in the 2018 NFL Draft, as well as enough salary cap space to potentially lure a veteran free agent.
But at this point, it's clear that Mayfield is on the Browns' radar. And although Mayfield is an analytics darling and Dorsey is a more traditional "football guy," Cleveland's new top personnel man made it clear to King that he's looking to mesh the best of both worlds.
“In today’s football,” Dorsey said, “it’s a combination of art and science. This model can work."
