Baker Mayfield Was 'Convinced' Patriots Would Trade Up to Draft Him in 2018

Baker Mayfield ended up being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, but there was plenty of uncertainty heading into draft night.

"For a while, he was convinced New England would trade up for him at No. 2," Mina Kimes of ESPN reported.

The Patriots had the No. 31 pick of that draft, so it would have required a massive deal to get the second overall pick from the New York Giants. However, the Cleveland Browns ruined any possibility of that by taking Mayfield with the first selection.

The Browns' move seems to have worked out for Mayfield so far as he was able to start 13 games during his rookie season. He totaled 3,725 passing yards and 27 touchdowns in 14 games while leading the Browns back to respectability with a 7-8-1 record.

Cleveland goes into 2019 with the ninth-best odds to win the Super Bowl despite not making the playoffs since 2002, per VegasInsider.com.

Although Mayfield might've had a great future with New England, he likely would've spent all of last season on the bench behind Tom Brady. With the legend, who turns 42 on August 3, winning a sixth Super Bowl this past year, it doesn't look like he's slowing down anytime soon.

Instead, he got exactly what he was seeking from the Browns. 

"I wanted to come here and play and be the one to change it right away," Mayfield told Kimes.

The Patriots kept tabs on other quarterbacks during the 2018 draft, reportedly having a lot of interest in Lamar Jackson, according to Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman. However, head coach Bill Belichick passed on the opportunity and waited until the seventh round to take Danny Etling out of LSU.

New England also selected Auburn's Jarrett Stidham in the fourth round of the 2019 draft.