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DENVER, COLORADO - DECEMBER 15: Quarterback Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns throws against the Denver Broncos at Broncos Stadium at Mile High on December 15, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Danny Kanell Expresses His Love For ‘The New Baker Mayfield’

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Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns entered the 2019 season with massive expectations. To say the team didn’t live up to the hype would be an understatement, and one of the main reasons for the lack of success was because of the offense’s inability to sustain drives.

After nearly winning Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2018, Mayfield was being considered a dark-horse candidate to win the MVP award last season. Instead, he finished the season with nearly as many interceptions (21) as touchdowns (22).

Mayfield has changed his approach this offseason though. The days of him trash talking opponents and doing interviews with anyone willing to listen are over – for now. On Thursday, CBS analyst Danny Kanell made it known that he’s a huge supporter of this new version of Mayfield.

“I love it, I love the new Baker Mayfield,” Kanell said on CBS Sports HQ. “There’s a part of me that wants to say, ‘Well, where was this mindset as a rookie, when you came into the NFL?’ But we all have different journeys in our careers, and clearly it’s taken a setback for Baker Mayfield to be humble. And the NFL humbles everybody that plays in it. There very rarely is a player who just starts as a rookie and just goes straight up from there. There are going to be ups and downs. Clearly, last year was a down year with those 21 interceptions.”

Kanell also thinks Mayfield’s disappointing 2019 season could actually help him in the long haul, saying “So I think that humbling experience last season will do wonders for him if he continues this approach of going to work, working your fundamentals and most importantly winning games.”

If Mayfield takes that next step at quarterback, the Browns could be a sleeper team in the AFC.

Cleveland has all the talent Mayfield could ask for in Odell Beckham, Nick Chubb, Austin Hooper and Jarvis Landry. That nucleus is one of the best the league has to offer on paper.

We’ll see if the new version of Mayfield can go from zero to hero this fall.

[CBS Sports HQ]