Baker Mayfield was one of the big gets for Sirius XM and other sports broadcasts in Atlanta on Wednesday. (Photos by Mary Kay Cabot, cleveland.com)

ATLANTA — At this time last year, Baker Mayfield was a wide-eyed draft prospect in awe of some of the big-time players he was rubbing shoulders with on radio row in Minneapolis.

This year, he's getting the VIP treatment at Super Bowl LIII, interviewing with some of the biggest media outlets, including ESPN and NFL Network.

Mayfield is here as a candidate for AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, and hopes to hear his name called on Saturday night during the NFL Honors show.

During his radio row circuit on Wednesday, Mayfield covered a wide range of topics, with many of the interviewers predicting he'll be in the playoffs next season.

For his part, Mayfield anticipates that and more. He hopes to be in the Super Bowl in 2019, and expects to make a big leap next season.

Here are some of the highlights from his interviews.

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Mayfield is interviewed by Adam Schein on SiriusXM radio.

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1. "We want to be here this time next year"

Mayfield told Adam Schein of SiriusXM's Mad Dog radio that he has no plans of doing the car wash on radio row next year.

"We want to be here this time next year, but not doing interviews,'' he said. "We want to be playing and practicing. We want to set our own expectations. We want to take home it all. No predictions, but making sure you set (the bar) very high."

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2. Freddie Kitchens "was my choice" of the 7 candidates

Mayfield told Schein that Kitchens was the candidate he wanted to get the job.

"I kind of had that sense the whole time, just seeing how he was, how he didn't change when he jumped from running backs coach to offensive coordinator and then just taking over and the difference that we had when he was calling plays and he had guys believing in him,'' said Mayfield. "And when you have guys believing in the head coach and respecting you, it's going to be great things that happen and so that was my choice, I believe in him. That's not to say anything about anybody else, but we had something special and I want to build on it.''

A source told cleveland.com that Mayfield gave his input before he left town after the season and then had no more involvement in the hiring process.

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3. He admitted that some of the Hue Jackson venom was gamesmanship

Mayfield indicated to Schein that some of his negative vibes towards Hue Jackson in the Bengals games were to get his game face on.

"If you're not in our locker room, if you're not on our team, you're against us,'' he said. "It's always been my attitude. It doesn't matter who it is. That makes it more fun, that makes it more passionate when you know somebody on the other side. That's how it's always been."

He said it's the same strategy he used at Oklahoma and even in the NFL when he's playing against a college rival.

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4. "He's just a slappy"

Mayfield told USA Today Sports that Kitchens is relatable.

"He's just a slappy," Mayfield said. "He's just an open communicator. He's just himself. He's proud to be a redneck from Alabama. He talks about anything and everything. He relates to everybody.

"We had a great, open, communicating relationship about what he wanted to get accomplished. And he helped me on how to eliminate reads quicker and work on my eyes and stuff like that. It was great on the field, but I think off the field is why it was successful."

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Former #Browns 1st round QB Brady Quinn interviews Baker Mayfield on radio row today for ⁦@SiriusXMNFL⁩ pic.twitter.com/X7sOeUYLEm — Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) January 30, 2019

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5. "I'm looking to make a big jump in year two"

Mayfield told former Browns quarterback Brady Quinn and Bruce Murray on SiriusXM what he needs to do in 2019 after setting the NFL rookie record with 27 TD passes in 2018.

"To me, taking care of the ball is the biggest thing,'' said Mayfield, who threw 14 interceptions, seven in his last five games. "I had too many turnovers last year. I know it was my rookie year, but I could care less. I've got to take care of the ball.''

But those 27 TD passes?

"It was fun, but there's so much room for improvement," he said. "(It's) just knowing when I need to take my chances and knowing when to pull back, so that's part of the learning process, and I'm looking to make a huge jump in year 2."

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6. "I always wanted to say the past didn't matter"

Mayfield admitted to Quinn and Murray that he now realizes what Browns fans have been through and why winning means so much.

"I always wanted to say that the past didn't matter, it's about what we're doing right now,'' he said. "But you can tell with what's going on right now, we didn't even have a winning season and it feels like we won the Super Bowl. It means so much to them.

"It's a football town when it comes down to it and the energy there now is so exciting. The expectations are going up which is positive. You want the fans to high expectations. You want them to be involved and be happy about it, so it's a great town to play in."

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ICYMI: @bakermayfield told @AdamSchein "we didn't even have a winning record and the town's already going nuts, so I can only imagine" what it would be like to bring the Browns to the Super Bowl pic.twitter.com/JMg0WkAsr7 — Mad Dog Sports Radio (@MadDogRadio) January 30, 2019

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7. On Kyler Murray

Mayfield picked football over baseball for his former Oklahoma teammate and fellow Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray in his interview with Schein.

Why?

"I want to play against him,'' said Mayfield.

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8. His Super Bowl pick

Mayfield didn't want to make a Super Bowl prediction, but ESPN's Sage Steele got one out of him on SportsCenter.

"I think it depends on the how the Rams D-Line plays,'' he said. "It's hard to bet against Tom Brady."

His pick?

"The Rams."

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📺#Browns QB @BakerMayfield joins @GottliebShow to talk about his crazy year. Baker talks about the art of being able to talk trash and still being able to perform. He also gives his take on Kyler Murray’s height and if it will hinder his ability to play in the NFL. pic.twitter.com/TJKsp2A45q — FOX Sports Radio (@FoxSportsRadio) January 30, 2019

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9. On what his mulligan would be

Fox Sports' Doug Gottlieb asked Mayfield what his one do-over would be from 2018.

"It's gotta be that last drive against the Ravens, missing that out route to Jarvis (Landry) on the inside and not converting on earlier downs where we weren't in a situation where we had to go for it on fourth,'' he said, referring to his interception on the last play in the 26-24 season-ending loss.

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10. "Everybody acts like what I do is so jaw dropping"

Gottlieb asked if Mayfield can be a trash-talking QB, considering that's not the norm.

"Have you watched Philip Rivers ever play?'' he said. "Everybody acts like what I do is so jaw dropping. You watch some of these guys, you've got to be a competitor out there. You watch Tom Brady. He's very competitive.

"I am who I am, and that's how I express it. I'm going to let you know that I want to beat you. I'm going to make it loud and clear and I'm going to try to get I your head and I'm still going to do my job. ... If there comes a time where I'm not getting my job done, I won't be talking.'

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11. 'Building relationships, seeing what we can do in free agency'

Mayfield told Quinn and Murray that he's working on recruiting free agents to the Browns.

"I'll be here throughout the whole week, building relationships, seeing what we can do in free agency,'' he said.

He also had dinner recently with Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr., whom Jarvis Landry has been trying to recruit to Cleveland in a trade, and Denver's Von Miller, who could wind up on the trading block this season.

"Right now I'm stepping away for it for a little bit to do interviews and build relationships and connect, but I'm going to start studying film a little bit later on and just getting back and getting healthy, doing it the right way and then getting the receivers out and just starting the timing and all of that chemistry early on,'' said Mayfield. "I think that's really important.''

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12. ‘It’s me against the world’

Mayfield and Freddie Kitchens are like-minded in their belief that if you don’t wear and orange and brown, you don’t matter, and Mayfield re-iterated that in an interview with Jim Rome.

“I have the ‘it’s-me-against-the-world-attitude’ and Cleveland has that same attitude so it’s a great match, and the energy in the stadium now for home games is so exciting and they deserve a good football team and we’re trying to build that right now,’’ he said.

He said 2018 was “a roller coaster. It’s been a lot of fun. There’s definitely been a lot of ups and downs. There’s been mistakes, but also learning opportunities, so I’ve been thankful for this past year. It’s been an unbelievable opportunity for me to live out my dream …Trying to seize the opportunity and Cleveland’s a good place to do it.’’

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