Imagine a scenario in which Baker Mayfield plants a Cleveland Browns flag at Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Baltimore or anywhere else after a big victory.
Admit it. You want to see what he'll do next. Cleveland made a splash with the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by taking the most polarizing quarterback in college football.
The Browns get a walk-on, a Heisman Trophy winner, a brash trash-talker and a risky pick all rolled into one. For a franchise that will have its 29th different starting quarterback since 1999 in Week 1, this was a big decision.
Is it the right one? Time will tell. Mayfield was the best quarterback in college football in 2017, and those who underestimated his playmaking, arm strength or ability to lead a team were wrong last season. He was a three-time Heisman Trophy finalist and led the Sooners to the College Football Playoff twice.
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Cleveland got its quarterback of the future, then added the best cornerback in the draft in Ohio State's Denzel Ward with the No. 4 pick. That should make those Browns fans who root for the Buckeyes forget about that time Mayfield planted a flag at Ohio Stadium.
They should do that anyway. Mayfield was the best player on a field full of NFL talent that night, and that was the case throughout much of his career. He has drawn free-range NFL comparisons — Drew Brees, Russell Wilson, Brett Favre and another one we'll get to soon — but there's a little bit of all of those quarterbacks rolled into his game.
This is what the Browns needed to do. They're a franchise coming off an 0-16 season. They're a franchise mired in losing, fumbling and missing the pick. They're a franchise that needs a dose of swag and confidence, someone not afraid to take the job and show people what he can do. Mayfield is that guy, and let's be clear about something else. He's not Johnny Manziel.
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He's so much better than Manziel, who was too much swag too soon. Mayfield is a quarterback new general manager John Dorsey can sell to the fan base, and it's OK to see if he can compete with Tyrod Taylor for the starting job sooner rather than later.
Is it risky? Of course it is. The Browns have a 20 percent chance of landing the best first-round quarterback given the five names that were mentioned through the process, and by now you know how that's worked out for Cleveland. The Browns could have taken Sam Darnold, but they might have seen him as just a better combination of Cody Kessler and DeShone Kizer. Josh Rosen, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson were too risky.
The Houston Texans took the best quarterback in college football with Deshaun Watson last season, and that's going to work out fine. The Browns, at minimum, can say they did that, and if Mayfield doesn't work out they can throw him on that 29-quarterback stockpile and move on. Cleveland might get criticized for not going Darnold-Bradley Chubb in Round 1, but the only true regret down the line might be not taking Saquon Barkley. The Browns can live with that if they finally found their quarterback, and Mayfield is that guy.
He's that confidence shot at the right time, and even if it doesn't work over the long run, at least it won't be boring. If we've learned anything about Mayfield, we know it's going to be one hell of a ride, especially in the AFC North when he gets his turn.
Chances are Mayfield won't plant a flag, but he'll do something to get our attention. He won't go quietly, that's for sure, and the Browns have been doing that long enough.
You don't have to admit it now, but we know you want to see how it plays out.
