Baker Mayfield was supposed to have the season all second-year quarterbacks dreamed of. The Cleveland Browns surrounded him with talent after his record-breaking rookie season.
Instead of thriving, he felt the sophomore slump. To get out of that slump, he will need to prioritize two things in the offseason.
2. Set aside the nightmares
2019 did not go as planned. We know that much. Mayfield entered the year with MVP hype, Progressive advertisements and the thought of being the Browns' franchise savior. Despite so, he more closely resembled a quarterback that should be watching from the sidelines rather than playing.
It was a nightmare.
Mayfield threw 21 interceptions (as opposed to 22 touchdowns), took 40 sacks and saw his passer rating dip to 78.8 from 93.7. He fell miles short of expectations. Again, it was a nightmare.
Mayfield needs to forget about that. Sometimes, the best trait an athlete can possess is a short memory. He needs to employ that train of a thought. 2019 is in the past — 2018 is even further back. Now, the Browns quarterback needs to only think about 2020. There is no need to dwell on the past when he can cherish the future.
1. Cut down on turnovers
Mayfield threw 21 interceptions, more than his 2018 campaign (14) and 2017 Heisman Trophy-winning one in 2017 (six) with Oklahoma. The mark was the second-most in the NFL. Clearly, that's not going to cut it. Mayfield knows that, and thinks he knows how to fix it.
“The amount of interceptions I had this year is, I think, more than I’ve had in the past two or three years combined,” Mayfield said on Dec. 29, via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. “So it’s quite frankly embarrassing for me, and something I take pride in. I’m not happy with that, but there are a lot of things where I can look back on the film and point out exactly where I went wrong. That’s the good thing about it — it all can be fixed.”
Luckily, Mayfield will continue to benefit from playing with an embarrassment of riches alongside him, in terms of skill position players. Even better: Freddie Kitchens is no-longer his head coach.
While Mayfield's gunslinger tendencies got him in trouble in 2019, his turnover woes weren't all his fault.
Kitchens' scheme was archaic; too often, Mayfield would drop back, only to see nothing open because the play-call didn't design check-downs or quick-reads. Instead, Kitchens often opted to set Mayfield up for failure, sending pass-catchers on long-developing routes, rather than shorter ones that will open up space for YAC — which would complement the lack of high-quality offensive line play.
If Mayfield gets a coach that will set him up to get the ball out quicker and rely more on his cerebral play and accuracy rather than those deep threats around him, he should succeed.
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