Mayfield a step ahead of other rookies

Rosen, Darnold and Allen trail Browns signal caller in passer rating

The Browns are last in the AFC North, as they have been nearly every year since finishing 10-6 in 2007. But there is an unofficial set of standings that might make fans feel better about the future.

Baker Mayfield, chosen with the first pick of the 2018 draft, leads all rookie quarterbacks in passer rating. He is the only one among his first-year peers with more touchdown passes (10) than interceptions thrown (seven).

“I’ll see what they’re doing just to keep up with them, because

we’ve done a lot of stuff together,” Mayfield said. “I’m not comparing. “I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about the Cleveland Browns.”

Mayfield is ranked 29th among NFL starters with an 81.5 rating. Along with his 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions he has completed 159 of 265 passes (60 percent) for 2,021 yards.

Josh Rosen, picked 10th overall by the Cardinals, is ranked 32nd. Sam Darnold, picked third by the Jets, is 33rd and Josh Allen, chosen seventh overall by the Bills, is 34th. All three have a rating below 70.0.

All four rookies are struggling. All four are trying to turn around bad football teams. The Browns were 0-16 last season (2-5-1 in 2018). The Cardinals, 8-8 a year ago, traded up to draft Rosen. They are 2-6 this season. The Jets were 5-11 last season and are 3-6 in 2018.

The Bills made the playoffs last year at 9-7, traded up for Allen and are 2-7 this season.

All four quarterbacks regularly won in college. Mayfield, 33-6 in his career at Oklahoma, is 1-5 as a starter with the Browns. His three-year loss total in college will be equaled in seven weeks starting for the Browns if the Browns lose to the Falcons on Nov. 11 at FirstEnergy Stadium.

“One of the things that I’ve conveyed to him is I feel really good about him feeling good about the confidence we have in him,” Browns head coach Gregg Williams said after practice Nov. 8. “We have his back. Now, let’s go.

“I don’t think that he had to be told that. Nope. I just wanted to make sure that he felt that. I’m kind of that way as a presence. Making sure that you feel, not hear.”

Mayfield won’t let the losing drag him down. He burst onto the scene as the Browns quarterback in heroic fashion, stepping into the huddle in the second quarter of the third game with season with the Browns trailing the Jets, 14-0, and starter Tyrod Taylor on the bench with a concussion.

Mayfield completed 17 of 23 passes without throwing a touchdown or interception, but he rallied the Browns to their first victory in 635 days and a star was born. But life for Mayfield, and the Browns, has been rocky since then. They have lost four straight games since beating the Ravens, 12-9.

“Losing sucks,” Mayfield said. “There’s no way around that. We have to be able to push forward. We have to be able to find the positives right now and build on those. Once we continue to do that, we’re able to focus on eliminating the negatives after that.

“It’s about finding out what we need as a team. Right now, that’s leadership and being able to continually improve every week.”

Mayfield and the other 2018 rookies aren’t alone. Peyton Manning was 3-13 as a rookie with the Colts in 1998. Troy Aikman was 0-11 with the Cowboys in 1989 and John Elway was 4-6 with the Broncos in 1983. Aikman and Elway are in the Hall of Fame. Manning will be joining them in 2020 when his mandatory five-year waiting period after retirement ends.