Baker Mayfield shouldn't be judged based off his drunken arrest in 2017 ... so says Stone Cold Steve Austin, who tells TMZ Sports the Browns QB is a "class act" with a great head on his shoulders.
We spoke with the WWE legend -- who got to hang out with Bake for his new show "Straight Up Steve Austin" -- and says he had a great time with the signal-caller ... noting BM isn't the villain some people make him out to be.
"It was awesome. That kid's got such a presence about him. What a head on his shoulders and the way he puts things into perspective," Austin says.
Of course ... Baker was arrested in Arkansas back in February 2017 ... where he was infamously blasted by a cop who caught him immediately after he tried to run from being questioned.
Austin says that one little action is not who Baker is ... praising the 24-year-old's character during their time together.
"(He) had a little slip up in Arkansas a lot of people like to bring up. Man, that one little action ... this kid is a class act. Super savvy. very alpha. Guys rally around him because he's such a gamer."
"As a young man, boy, I'll tell you what -- he has a lot of composure and a lot of 'it' factor, x factor, very charismatic and very confident."
Baker has recently joked about the incident himself ... saying on Thursday the best thing he learned in college was to not run from the cops!!!