We Must Be Patient with No. 1 Draft Pick Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns

Hope springs eternal—or so the old saying goes. 

It's different in Cleveland. On the shores of Lake Erie, hope springs for about four minutes until it's drowned in a sea of misery and despair. The hapless Browns are coming off the worst two-year stretch of the expansion era, a 1-31 nightmare the team can't seem to wake up from.

It's a testimonial to the resilience and loyalty of Cleveland's long-suffering fanbase that so many are hopeful of a big leap forward in 2018. There's optimism the Browns finally found the franchise quarterback that has eluded them for the better part of two decades when they drafted Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield No. 1 overall April 26.

But whether it's in regard to that shiny new signal-caller or the rebuilt team as a whole, that optimism needs to be tinged with a healthy dose of realism. There are a couple more old sayings that most assuredly apply to the Browns in 2018.

Patience is a virtue.

And Rome wasn't built in a day—especially when you're building from smoking ruins up.

There's been quite a bit written about the decision by Browns general manager John Dorsey to select Mayfield over the likes of USC's Sam Darnold or Wyoming's Josh Allen. Much of it has been critical—after all, Mayfield is barely six feet tall, played in the stats-wacky Big 12 and had dustups both on and off the field that called into question his maturity level.

Phil Long/Associated Press/Associated Press

Mayfield told Russell Wilson (another vertically challenged quarterback) during an episode of ESPN's QB2QB that he's grown accustomed to the doubters.

"If I was worried too much about it, I'd be worried about the wrong things," Mayfield said. "But I do use some of it as motivation. I can listen to all the people patting me on the back, or I can listen to the people saying I need to get better. I know I need to get better, or else there would be nobody saying that."

However, it's worth noting, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, that Dorsey, assistant GM Eliot Wolf and personnel consultant Scot McCloughan (all of whom have extensive front-office experience) had Mayfield graded as the No. 1 quarterback in this year's class—independent of one another.

According to Cabot, so did a fistful of other NFL teams she spoke to.

Yes, Mayfield is short by NFL standards. Depending on who you ask, he's either confident or arrogant. But he's also athletic and accurate.

Baker Mayfield does two things the Browns haven't seen in a quarterback in a good long while: He makes plays and wins football games.

The thing is, if everything goes according to plan, we aren't going to see Mayfield in a game that counts for a while anyway.

Head coach Hue Jackson made it clear nothing will be handed to Mayfield this summer.

"He is starting No. 3 right now," Jackson said in a post-draft press conference. "He has got to work his way up. He has to earn it. We are not going to give anybody anything. Draft status is just that. You still got to earn the right to play for the Cleveland Browns, and that is what we are going to create here."

Mayfield isn't going to stay No. 3 for long. And it's possible he'll take training camp by storm and make Tyrod Taylor the latest member of the Matt Flynn all-stars. Jackson left that door open.

"If Baker can understand the National Football League and all the rigors and the grinding that you have to go through, I'm not going to ever stop a player from being the best he can be," Jackson said. "But we have a plan, and I want to work that plan as much as we can. Now, can a player supersede that? You never know. I haven't had that happen. But right now, this team is going to be led by Tyrod Taylor."

This is the reason the Browns brought in the 28-year-old Taylor to begin with. He's no world-beater, but Taylor is a capable NFL quarterback with 43 career starts who just helped guide the Buffalo Bills to their first playoff berth of the 21st century.

John Raoux/Associated Press/Associated Press

On the day Cleveland acquired Taylor, he became arguably the best quarterback the franchise has had since its reincarnation in 1999. He's an ideal "bridge" to Mayfield. Taylor isn't going to win the Browns a bunch of games, but he won't lose them either. He doesn't generally make crippling mistakes or turn the ball over.

He's the anti-DeShone Kizer. He's also an undersized, mobile quarterback—just like Mayfield. It makes one wonder if on the day Dorsey made that trade with Buffalo, he already knew Mayfield was the guy.

There are essentially three scenarios regarding Cleveland's quarterback situation in 2018.

The first is that Mayfield goes buck-wild in camp, pulls a Russell Wilson and wins the starting job outright. The fans would no doubt enjoy that, but it's neither especially likely nor necessarily the best thing for Mayfield's development in the long term.

The second is that Taylor struggles, the team implodes (again), Jackson is fired midseason and Mayfield is thrown to the wolves as the captain of the USS Dumpster Fire.

The third is Taylor plays like Taylor, the Browns win a few games (but not as many as they lose) and the veteran gives way to Mayfield in the second half of the year—starts in which Mayfield looks very much like a rookie quarterback.

Think Mitchell Trubisky in 2017 or Jared Goff the year before.

That third scenario may lack sizzle, but it's plausible. It's also how rebuilds begin in the NFL much more often than not.

Make no mistake: The Browns are rebuilding, not rebuilt. Hue Jackson's winning percentage as head coach is .031—seriously. It will take a miracle for Jackson to survive past 2018. And given the numerous holes still on Cleveland's roster (especially along the offensive line), the odds that miracle comes to pass are slightly worse than that winning percentage.

Never mind the learning curve Mayfield faces as he transitions from Oklahoma's shotgun spread to a pro-style offense.

This isn't to say Mayfield can't make that transition, live up to his draft status and one day lead the Browns to the postseason. There's more Wilson and Tony Romo in his game than the lazy Johnny Manziel comparisons thrown around ad nauseam ahead of the draft.

The Browns are also significantly better than they were at this point a year ago. In rookie Nick Chubb, Carlos Hyde and Duke Johnson, Cleveland has the makings of a solid ground game that can take pressure off Taylor and Mayfield. Ditto for the acquisition of wide receiver Jarvis Landry, who gives the team the reliable passing-game target underneath that it so sorely lacked in 2017.

Tony Dejak/Associated Press/Associated Press

The defense should be better as well. Fourth overall pick Denzel Ward will drive the headlines into camp, but in addition to the Ohio State cornerback, Dorsey did a sneaky-good job of remaking a shaky Cleveland secondary with the additions of T.J. Carrie and E.J. Gaines and the acquisition of Damarious Randall.

Cleveland's new grand poobah of personnel has earned his paycheck so far.

But the notion that the Browns are a playoff contender (an idea that's been kicked around since well before the draft) is as dangerous as it is laughable. The Browns aren't going to the postseason. They aren't posting a third winning season since 1999. Or a .500 season.

Six wins would be a quantum leap forward from the franchise. It would also be four more wins than any NFL team has ever had following a campaign in which it lost every game.

It's understandable Cleveland's fanbase is tired of rooting for a laughingstock. Of being a punchline. It's no fun to play the part of cheering section for a tomato can. The players in Cleveland no doubt feel the same.

But unrealistic expectations that lead to grumblings when they (shocker) aren't met aren't the least bit productive for anyone, from fans to Dorsey himself.

Let a general manager who, from all appearances, is quite competent (a pleasant change of pace in the 440) build a legitimate contender. Let Mayfield develop into the quarterback who can lead that team to the playoffs for just the second time since 1999—perhaps as soon as 2019.

Be patient. Be realistic. Temper expectations.

Or else 2018 will be one more season of disappointment.

Albeit a slightly different kind.