Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield believes his team "should have" selected Patrick Mahomes No. 1 overall one year prior to using the same pick on himself in the 2017 NFL Draft.
While it's likely he only intended to praise Mahomes, his upcoming opponent in Sunday's matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, it's likely to be viewed by many as a slight to teammate Myles Garrett, who was the actual No. 1 pick by the Browns in 2017.
"Talent wise, I thought he should have been," Mayfield said Wednesday, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "I love Myles but. . . .
"Coming from the Texas Tech system, there are always your skeptics, people doubting the fact that all he did was sit back there and throw the ball. He threw it 88 times in our game [a 66-59 Oklahoma victory over Texas Tech], but when it comes down to it, throwing the ball is throwing the ball, and he's really good at it."
It's hard to argue that Mahomes isn't a No. 1 overall talent based on his breakout second-year campaign and first as the Chiefs' starting quarterback. However, unfavorably compare a teammate to him, let alone Garrett who is argubaly the Browns' best player, is a questionable decision.
Garrett currently has eight sacks, which ranks second behind Los Angeles Rams defensive end Aaron Donald's league-best 10 and has been one of the few bright spots for the Browns in 2018.
Still, Mahomes is making a strong case to be the NFL MVP, is arguably the league's fastest rising young star and turned the Chiefs -- who were eliminated in the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs last season -- into one of the strongest regular season contenders for a Super Bowl in 2018.
The former Texas Tech quarterback leads the NFL in passing yards (2,526) and touchdowns (26), while Kansas City currently has a 7-1 record -- the best among AFC teams -- entering Sunday's game.
However, it's not like the Browns were the only team to pass on Mahomes in the 2017 draft. The quarterback dropped to No. 10 overall, which means eight other players were taken before him after Garrett came off the board.
Specifically, the Chicago Bears selected fellow quarterback Mitchell Trubisky at No. 2 overall, so Mahomes wasn't even the first player to be picked at his position. Additionally, Garrett has -- aside from Mahomes -- made arguably the fastest transition to superstardom in his first two seasons out of the top-10 picks in the 2017 class.
But what's really interesting is how the domino effect would work in this scenario. Assuming the Browns did take Mahomes, that would mean Mayfield would have gone elsewhere in the 2018 draft, while several other quarterback situations could have also played out differently.
Kansas City would have likely retained former starter Alex Smith, which means he wouldn't have been traded to the Washington Redskins. Without Smith, the Redskins might have been more inclined to keep Kirk Cousins, rather than allowing him to test free agency.
The Vikings may have decided to keep Case Keenum, which means he wouldn't have gone to the Denver Broncos and the dominos would continue to fall.
And, of course, Garrett would have been drafted by another team, likely one in the top-5.
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