Baker Mayfield has chance to reverse course in 2020
Last year, the Cleveland Browns were supposed to be a force in the AFC. Baker Mayfield enjoyed a lengthy feature in GQ during the summer. Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. graced the cover of Sports Illustrated’s NFL preview magazine. It was all Browns all the time, until the games started.
Cleveland was never in contention, finishing with a 6-10 mark, including three consecutive losses to end the miserable campaign. At season’s end, first-year head coach Freddie Kitchens was fired. His replacement is Kevin Stefanski, another first-time head coach at any level and the third head man Cleveland has employed in as many seasons.
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However, while Stefanski and the job he does certainly matters, the 2020 drive starts with Baker Mayfield.
As a rookie, Mayfield was terrific despite having a pair of head coaches. The former No. 1 overall pick threw for 3,725 yards and 27 touchdowns against 14 interceptions in 13 starts (14 games total). The sky appeared to be the proverbial limit.
Then 2019 happened. Mayfield was hideous from the start, throwing three interceptions in a Week 1 blowout defeat against the Tennessee Titans. He finished by amassing 3,827 yards with 22 touchdowns and 21 interceptions. His completion rate also dropped four points, going below the 60 percent threshold.
The good news? Mayfield appears more focused heading into his third season, something he talked about with the media on Friday afternoon. Per NFL.com:
“The last couple years have been a roller-coaster of emotions and not nearly as much success as I’m used to,” Mayfield told reporters. “So I’d say I lost myself not having that success, not finding out what was working. I think I tried different ways of trying to have that success and didn’t find it.”
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Mayfield has ample talent around him to make things work this time around.
The Browns have a plethora of skill-position players who can make defensive coordinators lose sleep, including Landry and Beckham Jr. on the outside, both Austin Hooper and David Njoku at tight end, and the duo of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt in the backfield. Factor in an improved offensive line with the signing of right tackle Jack Conklin and the first-round selection of let tackle Jedrick Wills, and Mayfield would be hard-pressed to ask for a better situation.
Only 25 years old, Mayfield’s career is largely ahead of him. For Cleveland, 2020 represents a fresh start and one which could finally turn the tide on the banks of Lake Erie.
