CLEVELAND -- Former Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson is confident that rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield has everything that it takes to be successful in the National Football League.
In an appearance on The Adam Schefter Podcast Monday, Jackson spoke at length about his belief that Mayfield, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and 2017 Heisman Trophy winner at the University of Oklahoma, will turn around the fortunes of a franchise with the longest current playoff drought in the league.
“He can be really good, and I think he’s going to be really good,” Jackson told Schefter. “Obviously, he’s the first pick in the draft for a reason. He has all of the physical tools that you need. He can throw it. He can throw on the run. He can throw with touch.
“He’s pinpoint accurate, but again, as with every quarterback in the National Football League, they’re only as good as the people you surround them win. The more talent John Dorsey and the organization put around him, the more he grows in this league, I think the better he’s going to be. I think the sky’s the limit for him.”
Mayfield completed 159 of his 265 attempts (60 percent) for 1,768 yards and 10 touchdowns against seven interceptions despite being sacked 22 times for 154 lost yards through his first seven games at the professional level.
Additionally, Mayfield rushed for 91 yards on 15 carries, an average of 6.1 yards per attempt.
“Stature-wise, I know people say Drew Brees, and I’m not saying he’s Drew Brees by any stretch of the imagination,” Jackson said. “Drew Brees has done it and done it at a high level for so long, but I wouldn’t be surprised if 10, 15 years from now, if we’re not having that conversation about Baker Mayfield.”
Mayfield is 1-5 in six starts for the Browns and engineered a come-from-behind victory against the New York Jets in front of a national-television audience on Thursday Night Football on September 20, a game that is credited to veteran quarterback Tyrod Taylor because he started the game.
Although the Browns are 2-6-1 and in a distance fourth place within the AFC North Division, Jackson is confident Mayfield has the necessary mindset lead the organization to success, especially given the fact that GM John Dorsey has added talent to the roster with the full commitment of ownership.
“He has that mentality,” Jackson said. “He has something special about him that only a few people that play that position have. He has the ‘It Factor.’ Now, it hasn’t led to wins yet outside of the couple that the organization has, but I think that’s also part of what the culture has been.
“I think he’ll overcome that, and I think they need to overcome that quickly just because you don’t want that seed planted in him about the losing. John Dorsey and the Haslams will do anything and everything they can to help that organization get to winning as fast as they can.”
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