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What if the Cleveland Browns had started Baker Mayfield in Week 1 last year?

Could Baker Mayfield have led the Cleveland Browns to the playoffs last year if only coach Hue Jackson had held a quarterback competition in preseason? Could he have saved his job by anointing Baker Mayfield as the first string quarterback from the get-go, rather than Tyrod Taylor?

You’ve probably had this conversation multiple times in your favorite Browns watering hole, or even on the comments section of Dawg Pound Daily? If Mayfield had had a chance to start earlier, could he have made a difference?

It sounds very appealing. After all, the nature of summer camp to compete for jobs, so it seems almost un-American to assign a first string job to a player without free and open competition.