Tim Couch was the first overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft. He was taken by the Browns, who were returning to the NFL as an expansion franchise after the original team bolted for Baltimore following the 1996 season. You can probably guess how things went for Couch. The Browns won two games in '99. And while the team actually made a playoff appearance during his five-year career (in '02, though Kelly Holcomb started the game), he finished with a 22-37 record as a starter.

We mention Couch, who never lived up to the ridiculously lofty expectations, because he's the latest Browns former franchise quarterback to weigh in on the latest Browns franchise quarterback, Baker Mayfield. Not surprisingly, Couch is preaching patience -- to media, fans and the young quarterback.

"It's a big jump," Couch said, via ESPN.com. "I don't care how high a level you played at in college. I played in the SEC, a very fast conference, a very physical conference, but it was still a huge jump for me getting used to the speed of the game and the size of the players and just learning how complex defenses can get.

"It looks great out here in Day 5 of training camp, but it's very basic right now. Even in preseason, they'll be basic looks they give you. As the season goes on, you get more complex looks, and it gets harder and harder on a rookie quarterback. So you have to bring those guys around slowly, especially when you're on a football team that hasn't had a lot of success."

One of the big talking points after the first few days of training camp was that Mayfield, who looked sharp alongside veteran Tyrod Taylor, had yet to throw an interception. The counterargument would be 1) Hey, it's training camp -- game stats don't really matter and 2) Hey, he's playing against the Browns, an outfit that won exactly zero times in 2017. 

Put another way: Yes, it's perfectly reasonable to be excited about something football-related in Cleveland but just temper that excitement with a little reality. This explains why coach Hue Jackson has made it clear for months that Taylor, who was acquired in the offseason after helping the Bills to the playoffs last season, is the unquestioned starter.

"He's not ready to walk out there right now and play, and that's okay,'' Jackson said last week. "We didn't bring him here for that. We brought him here because he's talented, we think he's the future of this organization, we're going to do everything we can to continue to develop him as we go through training camp and preseason.

"When he's ready to play, he'll walk out there and play well.''

This comes a year after Jackson was convinced then-rookie DeShone Kizer was capable of handling the starting job and, well, he wasn't. Jackson benched him several times throughout the season, the team finished 0-16, and Kizer is now a member of the Packers.

"I'm committed to making this work the way that we have it, because I think it's what's best for the organization, I think it's what's best for the player," Jackson said of the current depth chart. ... "Trust me, I think we're in a really, really good place right now."

Back in May, another former Browns quarterback taken in the first round shared his thoughts on how the team should bring Mayfield along.

"I feel like Baker's in a better situation having a vet quarterback in there in Tyrod," Johnny Manziel told The Dan Patrick Show at the time. "There's not pressure on him to come in and start Day 1 and I think he's going into it and he's going to learn from the vets."

Manziel continued: "Baker's got the fire, Baker's got the spark, and you know, I think he'll do all right. But don't let the pressure of everything else that goes on get to you. That would be my one advice: just go out and make football the main thing and go out and play like he's done for the last five years."

While Jackson maintains that Taylor is the guy in Cleveland, the question is for how long. Jackson is 1-31 in two seasons and if the Browns get off to a slow start, there will be pressure to play Mayfield, whether it's the right move or not. Of course, if owner Jimmy Haslem is willing to be patient -- something he struggled to do early in his tenure with the team -- the Browns could go through any growing pains with Taylor and keep Mayfield on the bench where everyone seems to agree he belongs for the near future.

And then when he's ready, Mayfield will play. It's a simple strategy but one the Browns haven't followed with any of their recent franchise quarterbacks.