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Cleveland Browns: It's all about wins with QB Baker Mayfield

The Cleveland Browns' decision to select quarterback Baker Mayfield with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft came down to his winning pedigree.

BEREA, Ohio -- Two trips to the College Football Playoffs really paid off for quarterback Baker Mayfield.

When it came down to it, the Cleveland Browns wanted a quarterback with a proven track record of winning, and that was why they selected the former University of Oklahoma signal-caller with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.

“It is about wins,” Browns assistant general manager Eliot Wolf said.

Vice president of player personnel Alonzo Highsmith added, “It is about wins. I thought Mayfield made all of those checks to me and he had the ‘It Factor’ to me.”

READ: Baker Mayfield hungry to get Cleveland Browns back to tradition of winning

With Mayfield, the competitive spirit is what teams would like out of their quarterback, but he has made questionable off-the-field decisions that resulted in an arrest, as well as vulgar actions toward opposing fans.

Despite the off-field concerns, the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Mayfield put together a Heisman Trophy-winning campaign where he completed 285 of his 404 throws (70.5 percent) for 4,627 yards and 43 touchdowns against six interceptions to cap off a four-year career that started at Texas Tech University.

During his three years at Oklahoma and one season with the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Mayfield completed 1,026 of his 1,497 attempts (68.5 percent) for 14,607 yards and 131 touchdowns against only 30 interceptions.

“The thing that you could really see from him was his presence on the field,” Wolf said. “Pregame, he would walk by a group of Oklahoma players and there was just that instant energy that everyone had.

“Once the game starts, obviously, he has all of physical tools that you look for; a little bit shorter than everybody’s perfect, ideal quarterback, but we did not really feel like that necessarily contributed to any negative play.”

Credit: Ken Blaze
Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield warms up prior to the start of practice at Rookie Mini Camp at team headquarters in Berea, Ohio.

READ: Cleveland Browns believe culture change already underway

During the press conference, Highsmith listed an impressive number of quarterbacks he has either competed alongside or against in his career, and both he and Wolf feel Mayfield has what it takes to be successful in the NFL.

“There is something more than a big arm to be a quarterback,” Highsmith said. “If it was just about a big arm, then everybody would be successful at the quarterback position. We throw out all of the traits it takes to be a quarterback when somebody does not measure up to somebody’s standards. I have always wondered when it comes to being a great football player is whose standards are we judging them by? It is about playing the game. It is about being a good football player.”

Wolf added, “The thing for me when I was scouting him, I just thought he was the best guy. Obviously, the organization thought that as well. He has tremendous anticipation. He has a great arm, a quick release. He can see the field. He is a winner. All of those things throughout the process combined together and led us to our decision.”

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