The Cleveland Browns certainly aren't generating the kind of hype they did last offseason, but maybe that's for the best. After Freddie Kitchens took the reins from Hue Jackson, the Browns acquired several intriguing players in free agency -- including former New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. While he was seen as someone who could help take this offense to the postseason, he struggled to get on the same page with second-year quarterback Baker Mayfield. In 2019, Beckham caught just 74 passes for 1,035 yards and four touchdowns, the lowest numbers he's posted when playing a full 16-game season. It was also Beckham's worst catch rate of his career.
Some of the blame can be attributed to Mayfield's play as well, as the former No. 1 overall pick completed just 59.4 percent of his passes, which ranked No. 31 in the league, and threw 21 interceptions, which were the second-most in the league last year. Mayfield understands his rapport with Beckham is going to be important moving forward, and he says that they have worked on their chemistry throughout this offseason and in training camp.
"It's sure as hell going to be a lot better than last year," Mayfield said about his chemistry with Beckham, via NFL.com. "We're just on the same page, things we talked about. There was a lot going on within the building last year. We're not going to get into that, but we're both in a better state. He's healthy; surgery was successful, thank God. He's feeling great. He's in a great state of mind."
Mayfield also said that new wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Chad O'Shea is quickly instilling a better culture among the wide receiving corps, and that Beckham has clearly bought in as well.
"You can tell how serious the offseason was for him," Mayfield said. "It just kind of permeates throughout the whole building."
Earlier this offseason, Beckham predicted that 2020 is going to be one of the best seasons of his career, saying, "This is my time." Maybe we should expect a lot more out of this offense since this prospective dynamic duo has had a year to work out the kinks.
