https://www.brownsfanshop.com/Emmanuel-Ogbah-Jersey , but hasn’t stopped for the ever-rebuilding Browns. They’re in the midst of yet another coaching search, and the NFL playoffs are likely to come and go without them again this season — the 16th straight postseason since their most recent appearance.But as Cleveland hit its bye week, and with six games left in another season going nowhere, optimism abounds around a franchise that has had little to celebrate over the past 25 years.The dark days of despair are dwindling.Baker Mayfield is making them go away.The fearless rookie quarterback with the contagious personality, touchdown-making skills and trash-talking bravado, has the Browns — and their long-suffering fans — believing.“It’s not everything, but it’s everything,” guard Joel Bitonio said with a smile when asked about Mayfield’s magnetism and positive influence. “You’ve got to have a quarterback to win in the NFL and it hasn’t been perfect, but to have him out there with you, there’s always that hope that, ‘Hey, we have a chance to win this game.'”The No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, Mayfield is changing the Browns (3-6-1) with his actions on and off the field. He’s already endured years of chaos in just 10 games as Cleveland has changed coaches, traded its top playmaker (Josh Gordon) and leading rusher (Carlos Hyde), suffered numerous injuries and a few of those punch-in-the stomach losses that the Browns have seemingly mastered.But every time the Browns have taken a hard hit, Mayfield has responded with one of his own.“We’ve got a quarterback who knows how to fight,” said defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah. “You want to play for a guy like that who inspires you. He comes to the defensive side of the ball like, ‘Hey, we’re still in this. Just give me one more chance out there.’ Guys on defense love that. They love a quarterback who can go out there and make a promise and say, ‘Hey Denzel Ward Jersey , I’ve got your back.'”Mayfield, who has gotten better every week, hasn’t won the respect of his teammates. He’s earned it.The Browns didn’t hand the starting job to Mayfield, who began the season in a backup role before starter Tyrod Taylor suffered a concussion in Week 3 against the New York Jets on national TV. Mayfield came in and led the Browns to their first win since 2016, snapping a 19-game winless streak and providing a preview of bigger things to come.It hasn’t been perfect so far. Mayfield has made his share of rookie mistakes, forcing passes, holding onto the ball too long, missing open receivers. But in the past four games, Mayfield has completed 69 percent of his passes with nine touchdowns and just two interceptions.Despite winning the Heisman Trophy and going 33-6 as a starter at Oklahoma, Mayfield wasn’t considered the top prospect in this year’s ballyhooed rookie QB class, which includes Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen and Josh Allen. Mayfield was too short, too cocky, too much a product of Sooners coach Lincoln Riley’s system.Well, Mayfield has outperformed the other rookies across the board.“He’s developing as a quarterback,” said Browns general manager John Dorsey, the man who went out on a limb and picked Mayfield. “He is still a rookie quarterback. He has demonstrated certain things during the course of a game that get you excited. I think that if you would ask him as a person, he still has a lot more football to master the position that he plays. I think he will continue to do that.”Last week, after being encouraged by interim coach Gregg Williams and his teammates to “cut it loose and play,” Mayfield delivered the signature performance and victory of his fledgling pro career.He completed his first 13 passes Trevon Coley Color Rush Jersey , finished 17 of 20 with three touchdown passes and outplayed Atlanta quarterback and 2016 NFL MVP Matt Ryan as the Browns ended a four-game losing streak with a 28-16 win.Following the game, Mayfield smiled and said he woke up “feeling dangerous” before de-feathering the Falcons, who had their playoff hopes severely shaken.The comment might have come off as cocky to some, but it was Mayfield at his playful and bragging best, displaying the swagger that made him a college superstar and has endeared him to his Cleveland teammates.Make no mistake, at 23 and only 10 games into his NFL life, Mayfield is the Browns’ undisputed leader, the tone-setter.“He’s taken the role head-first, never looking back,” said rookie running back Nick Chubb, who rushed for 176 yards in the win. “He brings that energy and burst that we need. This team will follow him anywhere. He is just a great leader, and you know no matter what is going on around us or outside noise just the bad stuff that has not gone well for us, he is going to give us all 100 percent and he is not going to let it affect him.“We like that in our quarterback and our leader, and he is fiercely competitive. He gives 100 percent every play. Just being on the team with him, everyone just likes it and loves him and loves who he is.”The praise from Chubb and others fuel him.“To me, there is nothing better than that,” Mayfield said. “As a quarterback, and as somebody that wants to be a leader of this team, it does not get better than that.”In Cleveland, things are getting a lot better. Kosar on top of list that includes Brian Sipe https://www.brownsfanshop.com/Duke-Johnson-Jersey , Bill Nelsen as team’s top QB in the common draft era." />Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteDawgs EDTShareTweetShareShareNFL.com picks Bernie Kosar as Browns greatest quarterbackPhoto by Rick Stewart/Getty ImagesThe Cleveland Browns ended their long quarterback nightmare in 2018 when the team made Baker Mayfield the No. 1 overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft. That night concluded the search for a true franchise quarterback that began on November 8, 1993 - the day that the Browns released Bernie Kosar.The fact that the Browns went almost 25 years without a true franchise-level quarterback helps explain, at least in part, why NFL.com’s Ali Bhanpuri selected Kosar as the franchise quarterback for the Browns. Bhanpuri has been going through the league, division by division, in an attempt to determine the franchise quarterback for each of the league’s 32 teams. To do that, Bhanpuri established criteria for evaluating the quarterbacks and limited the field to quarterbacks who have played since the common draft begin in 1967. In addition to making a minimum of 48 starts, quarterbacks needed to meet two of the next three requirements:Winning regular-season record.Minimum passer rating of 75.0.At least one Pro Bowl selection.Not including players or stats prior to 1967 eliminated Frank Ryan, who played for the Browns from 1962 to 1968 and was the quarterback of the last title team in 1964; and Otto Graham, who played in 10 title games in his 10-year career, winning seven of them, and who is the obvious choice as the franchise’s greatest quarterback.Bhanpuri’s criteria narrowed the field down to:Bill Nelsen, who made 51 starts from 1968 through 1972, posted a record of 34-16-1, had a 72.1 passer rating and earned one Pro Bowl selectionBrian Sipe, who made 112 starts from 1974 through 1983, posted a record of 57-55, had a passer rating of 74.8 and earned one Pro Bowl selectionKosar, who made 105 starts from 1985 to 1993, posted a record of 53-51-1 Greg Joseph Jersey , had an 81.6 passer rating and earned one Pro Bowl selectionKosar’s record may not look impressive, but Bhanpuri hits the mark with his explanation of the choice:His stats, nor his game, may not have always been pretty, but you had to have been there to appreciate what Kosar could do on the field. From the start of the 1986 season until his elbow injury in the 1988 season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, Kosar was one of the league’s top quarterbacks. Watching the Browns during those years, you never believed the team was out of it when Kosar was at quarterback. The Browns were never able to win a title with Kosar, but he did help lead the team to a trip of AFC Championship games, as well as the greatest comeback in franchise history in the double-overtime win against the New York Jets in the 1986 playoffs. In addition to selecting the team’s best quarterback, Bhanpuri took a shot at selecting the biggest quarterback miss. And just like a hapless Browns general manager, Bhanpuri missed with his selection of Brandon Weeden:Weeden is by no means a good quarterback, but he has managed to carve out a six-year career in the league, mostly as a backup after starting 15 games his rookie season in Cleveland.The only acceptable answer to the worst quarterback selection in franchise history is Manziel, who was a complete disaster on and off the field, and without question the worst first-round selection in franchise history at any position.