Browns: It’s laughable to consider Joe Burrow better than Baker Mayfield

Fans of the Browns should be offended at CBS’s placement of Baker Mayfield.

There are not 14 better quarterbacks than Baker Mayfield. The Browns’ signal-caller had a statistically proven top-10 season in 2020. Yet, CBS disrespected yet another Browns player by playing him so far down the list. Not only was he not in the Top 14, but he was behind Joe Burrow, Kyler Murray, and Justin Herbert. Sure, no one is making an argument he’s better than Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes, but Matthew Stafford and Matt Ryan?

Sometimes it’s ok to just rely on stats because the eye test fails so many people. Here’s who CBS’s Pete Prisco put above Mayfield.

"95. Joe Burrow94. Kyler Murray93. Kirk Cousins.88. Matthew Stafford83. Matt Ryan50. Dak Prescott38. Justin Herbert29. Lamar Jackson23. Deshaun Watson10. Josh Allen8. Russell Wilson4. Tom Brady3. Aaron Rodgers1. Patrick Mahomes"

A hilariously misguided and awful list.

The Browns have a top-10 quarterback. This isn’t in dispute. Sure, he could go up or down in 2021, but he hasn’t played yet, so we have no idea. Yet, after 2020, which is what this list is based on, Mayfield is a top-10 quarterback. To deny this is to deny facts.

Mayfield had a higher QBR than Burrow, Murray, Cousins, Stafford, Ryan, Herbert, Watson, and was just shy of passing Brady. Of all those players, that were ranked higher on the CBS list, but fell behind Mayfield in QBR, none of them got to the postseason. Mayfield didn’t just get to the postseason, but he came up big in the first game against the Steelers, as well as ending a nearly 20-year drought.

He’s also the only player to play in an environment that affected his play as well. None of the others listed above play in the same kind of weather conditions Mayfield has to. Burrow is in the same state but he’s four hours away and isn’t affected by the lake-effect weather. Murray plays in a domed, desert arena. Cousins, Stafford, Ryan, and Watson also played in domed-home stadiums. While Herbert played in LA, where the weather is almost always favorable.

None of them had to deal with 60 mile an hour winds, snow, sleet, or any other elements that make playing in Cleveland such a hassle. People want to ignore the weather factor in Cleveland but it’s really hard not to. If you’re from here, you know how hard it is to walk in that stuff, let alone trying to play quarterback in it.

Mayfield is a top-10 quarterback, and it’s time to accept that.