Mayfield — Pro Player of the Year

Fans took the fizz out of the Pepsi Rookie of the Year voting for Baker Mayfield when they selected Giants running back Saquon Barkley for the award, even though Mayfield received the weekly honor seven times in a fan vote while Barkley won it twice. Running backs traditionally are named Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year — 40 have won the award compared to only eight quarterbacks since Jim Brown of the Browns was the first Rookie of the Year — so it was no shock when Mayfield finished runner-up to Barkley again when the winner was announced the night before the Super Bowl.

Mayfield won the Heisman Trophy in his final year at Oklahoma. So his talent hasn’t been overlooked. And he was the first player picked in the 2018 draft. He was also named Rookie of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America. Mayfield received another piece of hardware for his trophy case on Feb. 6 when the Browns’ quarterback was named Professional Athlete of the Year during the 19th annual Greater Cleveland Sports Awards banquet at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel. Mayfield beat out Indians pitcher Corey Kluber, Indians infielder Jose Ramirez and Browns cornerback Denzel Ward for the honor. “This is my new home,” Mayfield said. “To actually live here and say I’m part of the family here in Cleveland, it’s pretty special. So to be able to win Professional Athlete of the Year here is something I’ll hold dear. “I can’t thank the city enough. I can’t thank the Haslam family (team owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam), (general manager) John Dorsey, Freddie (head coach Freddie Kitchens). These people took a chance on me. I don’t know if everybody knows my story. But if you believe in me, I’ll probably take a bullet for you. That’s what this city’s all about. It’s a family.” Mayfield set a record for NFL rookie quarterbacks by throwing 27 touchdown passes, erasing the record of 26 set by Peyton Manning in 1998. More than setting a record, Mayfield led the Browns to their best record since they finished 10-6 in 2007. Mayfield sat the first two games of 2018 while Tyrod Taylor started. Mayfield took over late in the first half of the third game with the Browns trailing the Jets, 14-0. He rallied the Browns to a 21-17 victory and won six more times to lead the team to a 7-8-1 record. The Browns won five of their last eight games. The strong finish left them in third place in the AFC North. It left fans and the Browns thirsty for more in 2019 and beyond. “(Super Bowl) should be the expectation,” Mayfield said. “It shouldn’t be the whole town goes crazy over one win. It should be the expectation we need to be competing in the playoffs every year. “That’s the fun part about it. The fans can get really excited, but we set our own expectations in the building. You set your own standard and try to live up to it every day.” Mayfield said Dorsey did not consult him before naming Kitchens head coach, but Mayfield is definitely all in on the choice. Kitchens took over as offensive coordinator when Hue Jackson as head coach and Todd Haley as offensive coordinator were fired on Oct. 29. Mayfield threw 19 of his 27 touchdown passes with Kitchens calling plays in the final eight games. “I believe in Freddie and I think everyone else does, too,” Mayfield said. “I trusted him during the year and we had success. They’re putting together a great staff of football guys that trust each other and believe in each other. I’m excited to get back to work.” Mayfield joked about butting heads with new offensive coordinator Todd Monken, calling Monken “an Oklahoma State guy at heart.” He said Monken likes to call pass plays so often they will have to find ways hand the ball off to running back Nick Chubb.