Cleveland Browns: 3 reasons Baker Mayfield struggled
By Chad Porto
Bad Blocking
Let’s not pretend that Baker Mayfield had all day to throw. Mayfield was on his back more times than an adult actress at work. Why wouldn’t that be the situation though? They gave up an All-Pro Super Bowl-winning offensive tackle, a former first-round offensive tackle who also won a Super Bowl, traded away an offensive tackle taken in the second round for a fifth-round pick in the 2021 draft, and only replaced them by looking at the scrap pile next to the stadium.
It’s not like the team keeps missing on linemen. Austin Corbett (the second-round pick who was traded for a fifth-round pick) started 7 of his 8 games for Los Angeles. If he was good enough for the Rams, he was more than good enough for the Browns. It’s not like the Browns were so deep at offensive guard that they could of let one of their young players go. After all, the team was terrible on the right side of the line.
Over the span of four years, the team has lost three All-Pro linemen, two of which are still active and highly productive, and two top draft picks. For what? Nothing. Hey, they replaced them though with a first-round bust who’s onto his third team, so the team is doing a-ok!
It’s sheer lunacy to think the team was going to be better when the team added a sixth player to the cast of departed lineman when they sent Kevin Zeitler over the Giants. Sure, Joe Thomas retired but you couldn’t find a way to keep other the other All-Pro’s on your team? At the very least, you didn’t have to trade away your young offensive linemen, who went on to start other places.