The Cleveland Browns have won the offseason by landing one of the game’s brightest offensive stars, Odell Beckham Jr.
That move, however, won’t just benefit the franchise — OBJ is set up to have the best year of his career now that he’s teamed up with Baker Mayfield and his old college teammate, Jarvis Landry.
Some context: Beckham Jr. has already put up some jaw-dropping stats in his first five seasons as a pro.
- 2014: 91 catches, 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns
- 2015: 96 catches, 1,450 yards and 13 touchdowns
- 2016: 101 catches, 1,367 yards and 10 touchdowns
- 2017: 25 catches, 302 yards and three touchdowns (injury-shortened season)
- 2018: 77 catches, 1,052 yards and six touchdowns
Clearly, it would take some spectacular offensive fireworks by Mayfield in Cleveland to push Beckham Jr. to new heights.
Manning vs. Mayfield: Looking at these two quarterbacks, it’s clear that Beckham’s potential for production is much greater in Cleveland than it was in New York.
- Mayfield is much more accurate, despite having a lower completion percentage than Manning did last year.
- Beckham saw an accurate pass come his way just half the time playing with Mannin, per George Chahrouri of Pro Football Focus.
- Mayfield, on the other hand, was the fourth-most accurate passer in the NFL behind Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Patrick Mahomes, in the second half of the season.
- As noted by Evan Silva of Rotoworld, Baker Mayfield averaged more yards per pass attempt as a rookie than Eli Manning has averaged in any season over the last 7 years.
- As a rookie, Mayfield threw 27 touchdown passes in less than 14 full games. Manning threw 21, despite starting in all 16 of New York’s games.
So many weapons: Cleveland, unlike New York, has multiple weapons that will stress opposing defenses and allow Beckham Jr. more opportunities for big plays.
- Playing with Landry should help Beckham rack up stats, not hinder him.
- Cleveland also has a superb running game with Nick Chubb leading the charge behind an outstanding offensive line.
- Tight end David Njoku is coming into his own as well. He draws attention to himself, thus opening things up for other receiving threats.
The bottom line: Playing in a pick-your-poison offense like this, Beckham will thrive. He now has an accurate quarterback who isn’t afraid to take chances and thread the needle. He has another No. 1 receiver playing with him, which should open up the entire field.
In short, he’s set up for success like he’s never experienced as a pro.
Don’t be surprised if Beckham Jr. breaks out with a career year in 2019, as absurd as that sounds.