CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Baker Mayfield hasn't been counted out yet for the Browns at No. 1, and he's drawing rave reviews from some of the league's top analysts and evaluators.
On a conference call Monday, ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, the former Browns safety under Bill Belichick from 1993-95, ranked the Heisman Trophy winner first among the top five quarterbacks, and would take him No. 1 overall.
That's significant, because Riddick was a finalist for the 49ers' GM job last year and has been a Director of Pro Personnel for the Redskins and Eagles. Before long, he'll likely be back in an NFL front office, probably as a GM.
"Baker Mayfield is my favorite because he's an 11-on-11 gamer,'' Riddick said. "That's what he is. And it's not going to be a problem for him from the mental standpoint. From everything I've been told, he'll be able to handle all of that. The offense down at Oklahoma under Lincoln Riley is one where on first and second down yeah, it leads to a lot of big throwing windows because they have a great play-action passing game.
"Well, so do a lot of football teams in the NFL. Have you ever seen Kansas City's play-action passing game? It's as good as there is. Baker will be able to tear people apart on first and second down because he's used to that type of offense that they ran at Oklahoma.''
But Riddick was equally impressed with Mayfield on third down.
"Third down, when you're watching Oklahoma also, he's very good at scanning the entire field,'' said Riddick. "You know he can buy time. He has a heck of an arm. It should never be an issue and he's as accurate as heck. The only thing that people are going to be worried about obviously is the size (6-0, 214). I say, no one's worried about Drew Bree's size, all that is (just) trying to knock the kid down. And they're going to worry about him a little bit off the field and he needs to answer those questions.''
Riddick's QB board would stack up like this: Mayfield, Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen and then Lamar Jackson whom he thinks "will succeed and can succeed if he gets to the right place.''
ESPN's Greg Cosell, who shared the conference call with Riddick, acknowledged that he likes Mayfield "a lot as well'' and changed his mind about him after studying the tape.
"He's not what the perception is,'' said Cosell. "He's not a run-around quarterback. But the NFL passing games too have changed a lot. Each and every year, there's more quick-gain, there's more three-step, there's more five-step. ... I'm not saying that you want every quarterback to be six feet, but I'm not sure that height is as much of an issue as it was years ago when passing games were not quite like this."
One high level NFL evaluator told cleveland.com that if he were picking No. 1, it would come down to Mayfield or Josh Allen. He cited Mayfield's arm strength, play-making ability, infectious personality and swagger. He spent time with Mayfield at the Senior Bowl and other times throughout this process, and really likes him. He said Allen and Mayfield were the two best when it came to processing speed on the white board.
He's not concerned about Mayfield's maturity issues, and for him, it would come down to the size concerns.
"Would John Dorsey really take a 6-0 quarterback No. 1 overall?" he said.
He said Mayfield might also fit in better where there's more nightlife, and wouldn't handle sitting well behind Tyrod Taylor for a year. For those reasons, he'd probably lean toward Allen -- and thinks his accuracy will improve along with his footwork -- but there's a lot about Mayfield he likes.
He's not the only one.
Browns coach Hue Jackson said last month that Mayfield is 'no doubt' still in the mix and that he's eased concerns about his bad-boy image.
"I think he's outstanding," Jackson said. "I have a different appreciation for Baker. Spending that time with him, what a leader, tremendous person. There is a young girl (Mackenzie Asher) that he spent some time with. That was a tragic story, but I truly believe that's who Baker Mayfield is. He is important in the community. I think he's important to his teammates. I kind of feel like he's the Pied Piper of Oklahoma football.''
Jackson understands that he'd have to manage Mayfield's expectations from a playing standpoint.
"No doubt, he doesn't (plan to sit),'' said Jackson. "We laid it out pretty clearly what the expectations would be and what we're trying to accomplish here. And they, to a man, they all get it. They understand that this opportunity - as bad as they want it - could be a little overwhelming, and that there's things they need to learn on an everyday basis before they're ready to take it on.''
Jackson will meet with the media on Tuesday to kick off the Browns' offseason program.