Johnny Manziel 2nd NFL Season Started Better Than Baker Mayfield

Due to inconsistent play and off-field issues, Johnny Manziel didn’t work out during his two seasons in Cleveland. Immediately after, it got even uglier but he’s since cleaned his act up and it seems like his life is back on track. Come XFL time, he may even get back on the football field.

Post-Manziel, the Browns went out and got another QB in the first round, the much-talked-about Baker Mayfield. The pair, who both won a Heisman Trophy in college, were often compared to one another and after the draft, Manziel famously wrote and read a letter to Baker on ESPN (see below). As a rookie, Baker flourished, gaining endorsements left and right and a bunch of weapons to help the cause on offense. After three games in 2019, however, he’s experiencing what I’d call a “sophomore slump.”

His play through three games has been so poor, in fact, that his stats are worse by those of Johnny Manziel in his first three starts of his second season. Check out the comparison below:

(stats courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference)

The only category Baker wins here is passing yards and it’s by a slim margin. Ironically, both went 1-2 and were sacked 11 times, which speaks to the Browns as a franchise more than anything.

Baker is going to have a long NFL career, don’t get me wrong, but these numbers had to be shared. If anything, maybe they’ll help an XFL team give Johnny Football a chance to be QB1 in their inaugural season.

It should be noted that Johnny wasn’t the outright starter so his three starts weren’t consecutive.

Baker Mayfield

Johnny Manziel