Here they come, two rookie franchise quarterbacks taking command of their respective franchises, the two rookie rebels with a cause from the Quarterback Class of 2018.
Here comes Baker Mayfield, the former Oklahoma rabble-rouser and first-overall pick — so defiant and so full of swagger and moxie, the chip on his shoulder so fueled by the naysayers who doubt that he can do for short quarterbacks what Drew Brees and Russell Wilson have done, relishing the role of savior for a franchise debilitated by a quarterback curse that has prevented them from reaching a single Super Bowl.
Here comes Josh Rosen — the former UCLA paradox of entitled golden child intellect and imagine-if-Howard-Cosell-was-a-quarterback outspokenness, an oasis in the desert for a franchise desperate for a young Carson Palmer or Kurt Warner to lead it to its first Super Bowl championship.
This is Rosen’s first legitimate chance to walk the talk on draft night, after the Cardinals had traded up and chosen him with the 10th pick: “There were nine mistakes ahead of me.”
He would audible to three mistakes, the quarterbacks drafted ahead of him: Mayfield, Sam Darnold (Jets) and Josh Allen (Bills).
“We’ll see how it all turns out,” Rosen said this week. “Hopefully I can back up all of what I said.”
This is Mayfield’s first legitimate chance to prove to Cleveland and the rest of the NFL that Rosen is sadly mistaken.
Mayfield relieved a concussed Tyrod Taylor 10 days ago against the Jets and immediately lit up Cleveland the way Cleveland hoped Johnny Manziel would, and now Mayfield makes his first NFL start in Oakland. Rosen relieved Sam Bradford last Sunday against the Bears and now makes his first NFL start at home against the Seahawks.
Darnold (Jets) will be making his fourth start Sunday in Jacksonville and Allen (Bills) his third at Green Bay, leaving Lamar Jackson (Ravens) as the lone member of the much-ballyhooed 2018 QB class riding the pine.
It will mark just the second time in league history that four rookie quarterbacks will be starting the same week — Andrew Luck, Ryan Tannehill, Robert Griffin III and Brandon Weeden were the first such foursome in 2012.
Rosen is the Cardinals’ ninth starting quarterback since 2012. Mayfield is the 30th quarterback to start for the Browns since 1999.
It therefore might be difficult to find anyone in Arizona troubled by that photo of Rosen in his dormitory hot tub, or by his former UCLA coach Jim Mora saying he believed that Darnold was a better option for the Browns, or by questions about how much he loved the game … just as it might be difficult to find anyone in Cleveland disturbed by Mayfield planting that flag in the middle of the Ohio State Buckeyes logo following an Oklahoma victory last September, or by the night he was arrested in Arkansas on charges of public intoxication, fleeing, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
“If somebody had a question about his character, they didn’t do his homework,” said Hank Carter, Mayfield’s coach at Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas. “Now, has he made some poor decisions? Yup. He’s had to learn some tough lessons as far as some ways to respond in certain situations, and I think he’ll learn from ’em. He’s not a character risk at all. He’s my kids’ idol. I wouldn’t have any concerns about that.”
Why is Mayfield so liked by his teammates.
“I don’t know if this is even a real term, he’s kind of a man’s man,” Carter said by phone. “He doesn’t say everything politically correct. He’s pretty honest, and so I would imagine you guys love that. His coaches at times probably won’t love that, but I think his teammates appreciate his candor.
“I think his teammates love the fact that he’s one of them. To play the quarterback position, you don’t necessarily have to be one of the guys, and I think Baker is one of the guys, and can relate to his teammates easily.”
Though Rosen has the beautiful mind that can throw deep thoughts that have troubled some football purists and the beautiful arm that screamed pro-ready, Mayfield is more Dead-End Kid.
“He was like that shepherd, that small dog that is just driving the herd of cows,” Carter said.
Ex-Giants guard Justin Pugh entered the league blocking for Eli Manning. Now he will be blocking for Rosen.
“I saw it the first day he came into the huddle back in OTAs that he had a calmness and a confidence about him and that’s something that you can’t teach,” Pugh said this week. “That’s something that’s just innate and he has it.”
Rosen has made a good first impression on everyone. Respected Arizona Republic columnist Kent Somers: “I think he’s a supremely confident kid who’s not gonna go into a shell at the first mistake or the first bad game. His teammates seem to like him a lot. He knows his place as a rookie. He’s pretty much said and done all the right things since he signed. … He’s been intentionally boring for us. He’s not gonna come out and create headlines, no question about it. I think maybe that was a fear some people had after his time at UCLA.”
He won’t try to emulate other quarterbacks. “I do me,” Rosen said this week.
That is enough for now for the great Larry Fitzgerald, who told Jim Gray this week: “He’s an extremely gifted quarterback, he’s got unbelievable arm strength, wonderful intelligence and insight of what’s going on in a game. … [I] think he’ll be just fine.”
Carter is just as certain that Mayfield will be. Here is his message for Cleveland:
“You lost LeBron [James], and you’re getting Baker. There’s a long way to go to be an icon like LeBron, but I would say that the cupboard’s not bare in Cleveland. You’re gonna have a lot of fun, and I think there’s gonna be some really bright times ahead for the Cleveland Browns, and I think Baker’ll be a big reason for that.”
