CLEVELAND, Ohio — Baker Mayfield has been voted the Browns Joe Thomas Player of the Year winner and Joel Bitonio has been voted the club’s Good Guy by member of the local Pro Football Writers of America.

Mayfield, the No. 1 overall pick, has steadily climbed up the NFL quarterback rankings with his hot streak under Gregg Williams and Freddie Kitchens. He currently stands at No. 18 with a 95.1 rating after hovering near the bottom of the league before they took over.

“Back when I retired in March, our local writers announced that they would be renaming the Player of the Year Award to the Joe Thomas Award,'' Thomas said in a quote provided by the Browns. "It’s an honor that I take great pride in and I couldn’t think of a better recipient this year than Baker Mayfield. He has sparked this team and this city and I can’t wait to continue watching him in the Orange & Brown for many years to come”

Mayfield’s 24 touchdowns passes are third on the NFL’s all-time rookie list, and he needs three to break the rookie record held by Peyton Manning (1998) and Russell Wilson (2012). Under Kitchens, he’s thrown 16 TDs against only five INTs.

He has thrown at least one touchdown pass in each of his 12 starts, trailing only St. Louis’ Kurt Warner (23 from 1999-00) and Minnesota’s Brad Johnson (15 from 1996-97) for the most consecutive starts with a touchdown pass to begin an NFL career.

His 3,349 passing yards are second-most by a Browns rookie, and his 24 TD are No. 8 on the all-time Browns QB list.

In Sunday’s 26-18 victory over the Bengals, he completed 15 straight attempts, tied for third longest in team history. For his three-TD performance in that game, he was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week.

He was also voted NFL Rookie of the Month for November.

Bitonio was the Browns’ Dino Lucarelli Good Guy for the second year in a row. The award goes to the player who goes out of his way to help members of the media do their jobs, and exhibits professionalism along the way.

Bitonio tirelessly answers questions during the week and after games, and is very generous with his time. He’s available to the media every day, either at the podium or his locker, and is always thoughtful and insightful with his answers.