BEREA, Ohio -- Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Tim Couch knows all about plans to wait in the wings and learn from a veteran before being given a chance to start behind center in the National Football League.
The No. 1 pick of the Browns in the 1999 NFL Draft, Couch started very early in his NFL career, and was besieged by shoulder issues after years of punishment behind patchwork offensive lines, which is why his biggest piece of advice to this year’s No. 1 overall pick, quarterback Baker Mayfield, is to be patient.
“I know he's had so much success coming off a Heisman Trophy year and all the things he did at Oklahoma, a record-setting career,” Couch said. “I'm sure he expects to walk right in here in the NFL, and then, have that type of success and I did too.
“I think every high draft pick thinks that, but this is a rebuilding football team. Are they better than they were a year ago? Absolutely. There's so much more talent on this team than there was a year ago. He's in a much better situation now, but still, you just have to be patient and don't expect too much too soon.”
Mayfield is not a typical rookie, at least not like one Hue Jackson has seen before in his NFL coaching career.
Despite being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft after winning the 2017 Heisman Trophy, Mayfield has proven himself to be a humble student of the game according to Jackson, who has worked with NFL quarterbacks for more than a decade.
“He's got a great situation to learn from Tyrod, and I think he needs to take advantage of that,” Couch said. “Tyrod's had success in this league and he knows how to play and win football games and those kind of things, so I think he really needs to take advantage of that situation and just prepare as hard as he can.
“What I tried to do was prepare like I was going to be the starter because I knew one day, I would be the starter, and I didn't want to have to get ready. I wanted to be ready, so I think Baker will do that.”
The 6-foot-1, 215-pound Mayfield is no stranger to waiting, as he walked on at two major universities before letting his talents shine. And when Mayfield got his chance to be a leader, he completed 285 of his 404 throws (70.5 percent) for 4,627 yards and 43 touchdowns against just six interceptions for an Oklahoma Sooners team that earned a trip to the College Football Playoff Semifinals in 2017.
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.
“I love his story of what he's had to do in his career,” Couch said. “He's walked on twice. He's earned everything he's ever gotten.
“He's earned being the Heisman Trophy winner. He's earned being the No. 1 pick in the draft. No one gave him anything. No one really gave him a chance, so I think that mentality that he brings to this team is pretty special, and it's one of my favorite things that I like about him.”
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