Many around the NFL may not view Baker Mayfield as a leader. But Cleveland Browns center JC Tretter is not one of those people.

Tretter has served as Mayfield's starting center ever since his debut in 2018. The 29-year-old veteran not only vouched for Mayfield as his quarterback — he also vouched for his leadership qualities.

Via a recent interview on the Ryen Russillo podcast:

“He has greatly improved when it comes to demeanor and saying. This offseason he’s done awesome. From the day he walked into that locker room — he’s like a magnet,” Tretter said. “People just flock to him. He is truly a leader and just has that personality that guys want to be around him, guys want to mix it up with him and try to get under his skin and he gets under theirs. That’s just his personality all the time.”

Mayfield's Polarizing Resume

Mayfield led the Browns to a surprising 7-8-1 campaign during his rookie season in 2018. That was the year after Cleveland  finished the season 0-16. Long story short, there were high expectations for Cleveland entering the 2019 campaign.

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However, the Browns not only didn't live up to those expectations, Mayfield also completely floundered. He also ranked second in the NFL in interceptions thrown with 21 passes intercepted. Needless to say, the Browns fell way short of expectations, concluding the season with a 6-10 record.

Despite this, Tretter continued to vouch that Mayfield is a natural leader.

“He truly is the leader of our team and he keeps us all going. He’s the same guy, whether it’s coming off a Tuesday off, and you’re walking in early morning on a Wednesday, or it’s a two-minute drive to win the game on Sunday,” Tretter told Russillo. “He is the same guy, the same personality, the same mentality all the time. And that’s one thing football players love. Football players love consistency. We don’t mind whatever it looks like as long as it’s consistent and he truly is consistent.”

While Mayfield may have the support of his starting center, he'll still need to validate his standing as a true franchise quarterback in 2020.