CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Baker Mayfield will nip at starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor's heels every day, but vows that the competition between the two won't be divisive.

"It's not going to be something that separates the locker room,'' he said Friday on the first day of rookie minicamp. "We're not going to be fighting over who's the man in the locker room. I'm a team-oriented guy and I just want to win."

Mayfield, the draft's No. 1 pick, was forewarned by coach Hue Jackson that Taylor is the starting quarterback this season, and he's not fighting it.

"It's not about individuals,'' said Mayfield. "They brought him and I in because we're both team-oriented guys. He's the starter, and all I can do is help us out. So when you get a guy like that that helps out a locker room in just the best way possible, he's a grinder. He comes in early. He's the last one to leave, and I can only aspire to be like that.''

After walking on at Texas Tech and Oklahoma and winning the starting job at both schools, Mayfield isn't one to take sitting lightly. But he made the most of it when he sat out his first season at Oklahoma because of transfer rules.

"It taught me patience,'' he said. "Human nature, yeah, I want to play. There's no doubt about that. But in whatever way I can make the team better and whatever way I can grow and learn from whatever's happening, then I need to do that.

"Talking about that year, I sat out and I got to go up against a great defense every day in practice and I learned from Coach Stoops, Bob and Mike, 'cause they're defensive-minded coaches. Going against them, learning what their tendencies were, how they thought, and I can only just work on myself."

Mayfield first met Taylor, acquired in a trade with the Bills for a third-round pick, during Mayfield's pre-draft visit to Berea. "He came in to (quarterback coach Ken) Zampese's office, so I guess he kind of snuck up on me,'' he said.

The veteran's reputation for an impeccable work ethic preceded him.

"Even when I went on my visit at the Bills, they said the same things about him -- he's just an unbelievable guy,'' said Mayfield. "It's very transparent who he is. ... Like I said, he's the first one in, last one to leave.''

Short QBs are people too

Before the draft, Mayfield cited Russell Wilson, Drew Brees and Taylor as examples of shorter NFL quarterbacks who have excelled. At 6-1, Taylor is a just a shade taller than Mayfield, and they're both 215 pounds. But now in camp, Mayfield has a different viewpoint.

"At this point, it's not about size,'' he said. "It's about if you know your job, if you can do it and execute it, and then it's about winning. And (Taylor has) got the mentality ... of not taking no for an answer and doing whatever it takes to win.''

Mayfield plans to show he can command the locker room.

"I've got to continue my strengths, and leadership is one of them,'' he said. "It's earning the respect of the veterans in the locker room. The guys who have been doing it for a while. You can't talk about it and earn their respect. You have to go to work. You have to put the time in.

"You've got to learn the playbook, and then when you get your opportunity, you've got to show that you're there for a reason."

His magnetic personality, which so impressed Jackson, comes naturally, said Mayfield.

"I think I was just born with it,'' he said. "Passion for the game. ... I love being the guy to help people out. If we win, it's on my shoulders, but if we lose, it's on mine, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I take that responsibility and I thrive on that."

He won't take no for an answer

At the NFL combine, he declared that if 'anybody's going to turn that franchise around, it would be me.' He didn't back down Friday.

"It's a mentality that you're not going to take no for an answer,'' he said. "It doesn't matter what's happened in the past, it's about what are you going to do for it now? How are you working towards making this team better? ... You change the culture in the locker room, you get some belief in it. We don't have to talk about it, we know what we have in there and we'll just handle it from there.''

Mayfield, who drew rave reviews for his performance on the white board during pre-draft meetings, focused on his dedication to the game.

"Whatever edge I could have over somebody else I would try and do," he said. "So what I was waiting for during the draft process was the meetings. Getting in, getting on the board, talking about our plays, talking about our offense and kind of showing what type of guy I am.

"I don't know if I'd call it a photographic memory, but just being able to remember after you repped it a couple times and stay true to it. It's got to become second nature for you and fortunately enough I've been able to have a lot of experience where it is second nature.''

Advice from a future Hall of Famer

Mayfield met Joe Thomas for the second time in the locker room on Thursday, and the future Hall of Fame dropped some pearls of wisdom on him.

"I actually met him at the Super Bowl, I did an interview with him on media row,'' he said. "But that's a living legend right there. Ten-time Pro Bowler, it doesn't get much better than that. Just a couple words of advice, how to handle it, how to make sure that I focus on ball.''

Mayfield, the only walk-on ever to be drafted No. 1 overall, said it's humbling that multiple teams reportedly had him atop their draft board, "but I landed in the right spot. I'm here now. I'm not worried about who liked me during the process. I'm going to work here for the Browns. I'm a Cleveland Brown and I'm proud and happy about that."

He's not the only one in his draft class who feels that way, which is why he believes the future is bright.

"No disrespect to past classes or anybody else, but our group of guys is excited,'' he said. "You get a bunch of guys with chips on their shoulders that come from winning programs, they know how to do it. They know how to put the work in to get the results out of it. When you do that, you get a good mixture of guys. I think the results can be pretty good."