Editor's note: Tony Grossi covers the Cleveland Browns for ESPN 850 WKNR.

For Baker Mayfield, the journey from walking on to two major college programs, to Heisman Trophy winner, to out-of-left field No. 1 overall pick in the draft has been … kind of exhausting.

Arriving, finally, at his first Browns rookie camp has been “a settling feeling, like a weight lifted off my shoulders,” he said Friday.

Yet he knows while the pre-draft journey is over, another journey has begun. And he will travel it with the same “walk-on” mentality that took him farther than anyone could have predicted.

“For me, it’s a fresh start,” Mayfield said. “Once you’re drafted, it doesn’t matter … in the team meeting, we talked about it doesn’t matter how you got here. Everybody has the same opportunity. What are you gonna do with it? What work you gonna put in to put yourself in the best position to play and make the roster? For me, it’s something I know how to do. I’ve been in this position before. So I can only try to do the same and work harder.”

Offensive lineman Austin Corbett, a former walk-on at Nevada who was the Browns’ surprise second-round draft choice, recognized Mayfield’s mentality immediately.

“He puts his head down and he’s going to work,” Corbett said. “I know from him being a walk-on, that’s just a different mentality. It’s just something you have to get done when you’re a walk-on. That’s what he’s doing. I can see that side of him.”

Never change: Every piece of advice that Mayfield has heard leading up to now -- from Browns GM John Dorsey to former NFL quarterback Chad Pennington, to Browns legend Joe Thomas -- feeds into the mentality that has fueled his amazing rise from “late bloomer” to No. 1 pick.

Thomas told him, “This whole process is kind of crazy, but as long as you stay focused on what you’re here for, you’ll be good.”

Pennington befriended Mayfield at the Senior Bowl, where he served as an NFL alumni consultant.

“He said when you get there, go to work,” Mayfield said. “The things that got you here obviously have worked for you but don’t let it stop now. You haven’t made it yet. That’s the mentality you have to have. Doesn’t matter where I was drafted.”

Mayfield, who measured 6-0 5/8 and 215 pounds during the pre-draft process was always going to pale next to the strapping throwers like Sam Darnold and Josh Allen. But he figured his football IQ would be his trump card, and that is what impressed Dorsey, his associates and the Browns’ coaches the most.

“If you focus on knowing the game, which is what I had to do since I never was the biggest guy, I was a late bloomer, so I tried to gain a mental edge,” Mayfield said. “Whatever edge I could have over somebody else was what I was trying to do.

“That’s what I was waiting for during the draft process, the meetings, getting on the board, talking about our plays, our offense, kind of showing show what kind of guy I am.”

Mayfield’s other winning quality was the leadership he exuded on Oklahoma teammates. A video on the Internet of Mayfield dancing inside a circle of teammates was not lost on Corbett.

“I loved that,” Corbett said. “As a team player, if that doesn’t get you fired up … That’s just showing the love for his team. It’s awesome. That fires me up.”

Mayfield said he intends to utilize his leadership skills not only at this rookie camp, but afterwards when No. 1 quarterback Tyrod Taylor and the other veterans join the rookies on the practice field at OTAs and full minicamp later this month.

“I’ve got to continue my strengths. Leadership is one of them,” Mayfield said. “When you talk about that, it’s earning the respect from the veterans in the locker room. The guys that have been doing it for a while, I have to earn their respect.

“You can’t talk about it and earn their respect. You have to go to work and put the time in. You have to learn the playbook. And when you get your opportunity, you got to show that you’re there for a reason. That’s how I do it with the veterans and the rookies and everybody else here right now. I just got to be that guy in the locker room, be that guy that gets everybody going. Show them we’re all here for a reason.”

He’ll toe that line of sharing leadership with Taylor with respect, he said. Taylor, who is working out at the facility during the rookie camp, popped into a meeting between Mayfield and quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese to break the ice.

“They brought he and I in because we’re both team-oriented guys,” Mayfield said. “He’s the starter, and all I can do is help us out. 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 and is the last one to leave. I can only aspire to be like that. It’s not gonna be something that separates a locker room. We’re not gonna be fighting over who’s the man in the locker room. I’m a team-oriented guy. And we just want to win.”

Unconventional: Everything about Mayfield’s stunning rise has been abnormal.

While other prospects worked with private quarterback gurus to fine-tune mechanics, Mayfield did not.

“I’m not a QB-guru kind of guy,” he said. “I don’t think you can reinvent the wheel. I think the ones that have been through it and have played the game are the ones that I would definitely bounce the most questions off of.

“For me, it’s about perfecting my craft. It’s not about going somewhere on a beach and doing a beach workout. It’s about learning this playbook, being able top lay in weather and being with my teammates.”

He doesn’t believe in having his mechanics over-analyzed.

“For me, it’s always if you’re able to throw, you can throw,” Mayfield said. “That’s not something you can teach. So for me, I’ve always just worked on getting a quicker release and being able to throw from different angles. Not being the tallest guy, I have to do that. I have to find windows, have to find lanes to throw in. So those are the things I work on.”

There are golfers who have no use for swing coaches. Then again, Mayfield said he doesn’t play golf. Imagine that, a quarterback drafted first overall who doesn’t play golf.

Yes, the Browns may have come up with one of a kind.