NFL players voted for Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield as the 71st-best player in the league heading into the 2021 season.
The players vote each year on the NFL Network’s Top 100 list.
“A lot of people call him a gunslinger,” Browns All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett said of Mayfield.
Mayfield, 26, did not make the list in 2020, but was ranked No. 50 headed into the 2019 season.
“It looked like he’s cocky and arrogant when he goes out there,” Garrett said. “I’m all for it. I’m going to back him up whenever, wherever.”
Mayfield is ranked ahead of Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who came in at the No. 83 spot.
Baker Mayfield coming in at 7️⃣1️⃣.
This is only the beginning!#NFLTop100 | @bakermayfield pic.twitter.com/WSSHR7TxSK— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 15, 2021
Browns wide receiver Jarvis Landry and tight end David Njoku also had praise for their quarterback.
“He showed up this year,” David Njojku said of Mayfield. “I mean he talks. He’s a talker and it fuels a lot of us.”
Landry was the Browns’ first player to be ranked on the NFL’s Top 100 list, earning honors as the league’s 94th-best player.
“I mean, he made a lot of plays,” Landry said of Mayfield.
Mayfield also received praise from AFC North opponents.
“The Browns drafted him and he really turned the whole franchise around,” Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey said. “A lot of quarterbacks get down when they start getting hit (and) sacked.
“He’s a guy that just keeps going. When he’s in rhythm, it’s really hard to stop him.”
Last season, the Browns made the playoffs for the first time since the 2002 season.
The Browns’ 48-37 playoff win against the Pittsburgh Steelers marked the team’s first postseason victory since Jan. 1, 1995.
“He’s one of those guys that no matter what the stakes are, he’s going to be able to seize the moment, and he’s going to be ready for that moment,” Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward said. “(The Browns) are putting on a show right now, and Baker is the ringleader of that.”
While the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Browns 22-17 in the AFC Divisional Round of the playoffs, tight end Travis Kelce also complemented Mayfield’s 2020 performance.
“He’s just been pinpoint, especially in the second half of that year,” Kelce said. “It surged the Browns into the playoffs man. It was fun to watch, man.”
The NFL Network will reveal its Top 100 Players list during the next three weeks. The network plans to reveal players ranked 100-41 on Sunday’s show.
Remaining Top 100 Players of 2021 episode schedule:
- 4 p.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 22: No. 40-11
- 4 p.m. ET, Saturday, Aug. 28: No. 10-1
- 6 p.m. ET, Saturday, Aug. 28 : Reaction show
