Browns' Dorsey 'can’t wait' to see what Mayfield does in 2019
Cleveland Browns general manager John Dorsey spoke glowingly about Baker Mayfield, his team's quarterback and the No. 1 selection in last year's draft, at Tuesday's Senior Bowl practices.
"He’s mature beyond his age group and I’m just happy he’s a member of the Cleveland Browns organization and I can’t wait to see what he does next year," Dorsey said, according to Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com.
The 23-year-old led the Browns to a 6-7 record as the starting QB for the final 13 games in 2018. He completed 63.8 percent of his passes for 3,725 yards and 27 touchdowns against 14 interceptions after replacing Tyrod Taylor under center in Week 3 and leading the Browns to a come-from-behind victory.
Dorsey said he knew Mayfield would be his first draft pick as the Browns' GM well before the Senior Bowl, but that's where the two met for the first time and his decision was cemented.
"I knew in my heart of hearts what he was back in the month of October, November, but I think you keep that to yourself and you listen to everybody,'' Dorsey said. "You don’t want to influence the room and you want the room to have Baker earn their respect and I think he did that for everybody in the organization."
Mayfield will be working with a new, though mostly familiar, coaching staff in his sophomore season after Freddie Kitchens was promoted from interim offensive coordinator to head coach. Todd Monken was brought over from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to be the new offensive coordinator, and Ryan Lindley was named quarterbacks coach after being hired to direct the running backs in late October.
Dorsey is confident in that coaching staff's vision for both Mayfield and the team.
"We’ve said all along we want to be competitive year in and year out in the AFC North and we will be competitive in the AFC North."