The Cleveland Browns are one of the teams that could be in the market for a quarterback this offseason. They have to decide what to do with Baker Mayfield, who is entering his fifth season with the Browns but has yet to truly live up to the expectations of being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Mayfield has been okay at times, but when you are selected that high, the team is hoping you turn into a multi-time Pro Bowler, someone that can lead the team to victory consistently. The Oklahoma product has not proven to be able to do that.
Cleveland was linked to some of the big-name quarterbacks around the league, such as Russell Wilson, but with him heading to the Denver Broncos and Aaron Rodgers remaining with the Green Bay Packers, the quarterback market shrunk considerably.
More than likely, the Browns will look to bring in a veteran that can provide a different look offensively and push Mayfield a little bit. There are a few players that would fit the description of being able to do that. Over at Sportsnaut, they believe one of them will land in Cleveland and it will be Marcus Mariota.
Mariota has spent the last two seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders as a backup to Derek Carr. He hasn’t gotten a ton of playing time, but they designed specific packages for him to come into the game and run the ball, something that could prove useful in Cleveland.
With Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt and D’Ernest Johnson in the backfield, the Browns could get very creative with some RPO packages for Mariota. Kevin Stefanski has a bright offensive mind and could certainly scheme up something to play to Mariota’s strengths.
Packages like that found some success with the Raiders and it would be hard to imagine they wouldn’t in Cleveland as well. With a stronger run game, Mariota could make even more of an impact as opposing defenses won’t be able to key in on him as easily.
Could Mariota do to Mayfield what Ryan Tannehill did to him at the end of his tenure with the Tennessee Titans? It is certainly a possibility, especially if the opportunity arises for him to start and he seizes it.
