Browns’ QB Baker Mayfield is an NFL MVP Frontrunner

CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER 20: Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns looks on prior to the game against the New York Jets at FirstEnergy Stadium on September 20, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

Cleveland Browns fans don’t have to look far down the list of the latest MVP odds to find their quarterback.

Baker Mayfield is listed among the top 10 candidates to take home the NFL’s top honor, coming in at 25-1 in the latest odds released by Westgate SuperBook. The Browns’ second-year quarterback is tied with Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger and Falcons signal-caller Matt Ryan.

Mayfield is among four Browns listed with odds for the MVP, albeit he’s got the best chance by far. Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., defensive end Myles Garrett and running back Nick Chubb are all 100-1 to win the MVP.

Last season, Mayfield supplanted Tyrod Taylor as the starter in Week 3 against the Jets and went on to throw for 3,725 yards and had 27 touchdowns, breaking the record for touchdown passes by a rookie QB.

Mayfield needed just 13.5 games to set the new rookie mark. Russell Wilson and Peyton Manning — who previously shared the record — started all 16 games their rookie seasons. Now he’s got a full year and offseason as QB1 to show the league what he’s made of. Plus, Baker’s got an elite No. 1 wide receiver talent in Beckham.

The Browns won five of their final seven games and Mayfield led the team to a 7-8-1 record just a year after a winless 0-16 campaign.

NFL.com’s Adam Schein had previously listed Mayfield as one of his MVP favorites — behind only Philip Rivers and defending MVP Patrick Mahomes. He said that if the former No. 1 overall pick leads Cleveland back to the playoffs and an AFC North division title, it will help Mayfield get an edge in the voting.

“Mayfield won’t fail. He can’t fail. He has the talent, moxie, work ethic, accuracy and leadership skills to push the Browns to the playoffs,”Schein wrote of Mayfield. “Mayfield will get extra credit for driving Cleveland to an AFC North title, fighting against both a tough group of division rivals and the Browns’ long, established history of dreadful, misguided ineptitude.”

Odell Beckham Jr Browns Baker Mayfield

GettyCleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

Odell Beckham Jr.: 100-1

Beckham is healthy and has a quarterback not named Eli Manning is throwing him the ball.

The outspoken pass-catcher is tied for the top odds among pass-catchers with Saints standout Michael Thomas, Kansas City TE Travis Kelce and Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans.

A year after signing the largest wide receiver deal in NFL history, Beckham was traded from the Giants to the Browns in the offseason. The blockbuster deal sent first- and third-round picks and safety Jabrill Peppers to the Giants in exchange for the Pro Bowl pass-catcher.

Beckham’s best year came in 2015, when he caught 96 balls for 1,450 yards and 13 touchdowns. With some new scenery and his buddy Jarvis Landry playing alongside him, the three-time Pro Bowler has a good chance to improve on those numbers during his first year in Cleveland.

In all, OBJ has caught 390 passes for 5,476 yards and 44 touchdowns in his career.

GettyCleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett.

Myles Garrett: 100-1

After a rookie year that was somewhat derailed by injury, Myles Garrett exploded onto the NFL scene in his second season with the Cleveland Browns.

At 100-1, he has the same odds as two-time defending NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald and Chicago linebacker Khalil Mack to take home the MVP.

Garrett heads into 2019 coming off of his first Pro Bowl season. He notched 44 total tackles, including 35 solo stops, playing in all 16 games. He also recorded 13.5 sacks, earning him a second-team All-Pro nod.

GettyCleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb

Nick Chubb: 100-1

Like Mayfield, Chub didn’t start every game during his rookie campaign, but showed what he could do by the time it was all over.

The 35th overall in the 2018 draft showed enough promise last year for Cleveland to ship veteran Carlos Hyde out of town midway through the season.

Chubb started nine games last year, rushing for 996 total yards. He would have eclipsed the much sought after 1,000-yard mark, but had his final carry of his rookie season go for a five-yard loss, knocking him back into the triple digits.

What makes Chubb a surprising pick is that he will most likely see his workload cut into when Kareem Hunt returns from an eight-game suspension. The team picked up Hunt this offseason following his release from the Chiefs after video showing Hunt pushing and kicking a woman surfaced.

However, Chubb has experience working in a backfield by committee and shouldn’t have a problem embracing Hunt’s presence. He did it for part of last year with Hyde and while at Georgia with Sony Michel.
Chubb should get all he can handle before Hunt’s return. Duke Johnson Jr. would be the team’s second-string back, but has requested a trade and could be dealt before the season. Behind Johnson is Dontrell Hilliard, who appeared in 11 games last season but did not receive a carry.

NFL MVP Odds: Best of the Rest, From Mahomes to Luck

Defending MVP Patrick Mahomes leads the way on the list at 4-1. Last season, the Kansas City Chiefs star completed 66 percent of his passes and threw for 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns in his first season as the full-time starter.

Green Bay quarterback and Colts QB Andrew Luck are next on the list at 8-1, followed by a bunch of other quarterbacks like Matt Ryan, Philip Rivers and Russell Wilson.

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