Getty Browns QB Baker Mayfield
Baker Mayfield’s second NFL season did not go as smoothly as he would have hoped. However, Mayfield’s college coach Lincoln Riley expects the Cleveland Browns quarterback and former No. 1 overall pick to turn things around.
Riley was Mayfield offensive coordinator and QB coach for two years at Oklahoma, before becoming the head coach in 2017. Mayfield passed for 12,292 yards and 119 touchdowns with the Sooners, winning the Hesiman his senior season.
Riley pointed out that things were generally messy last season when it came to the Browns offense — whether that was former head coach Freddie Kitchens‘ game plan, or the bevy of injuries suffered.
“It takes a lot and I think Baker … knows he’s got to play better and he will, but I think having an organized surrounding cast around you, guys that are healthy, a system that fits, it takes everything,” Riley told ESPN’s First Take. “If one little part is off, whether it’s another player, somebody being hurt, a scheme that doesn’t fit, whatever — if any part of it is off then it’s going to show, especially at that level.'”
With a new regime in place that includes head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager and executive vice president Andrew Berry, Riley envisions a situation where Mayfield plays more like his first season, where he set the the rookie record for touchdown passes.
“I know the kind of competitor and player that he is and I know he’s hungry,’’ Riley said. “He’s had a tremendous offseason so far, I know he’s very excited about the new staff coming in and being able to have some continuity with some of these players, especially his receivers coming back. So I would expect for him to do what he’s always done anytime he’s gotten knocked down, which is he gets back up and he fights and he normally finds a way to win. I totally expect he’ll do that again.”
Browns Throw Full Support Behind Baker Mayfield
GettyBrowns quarterback Baker Mayfield.
After garnering some MVP hype in the preseason following a record-setting rookie year, Mayfield finished the year with 3,827 yards, 22 touchdowns and 21 interceptions, ranking next-to-last in both passer rating (78.8) and completion percentage (59.4%) despite having both Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry at his disposal.
“I believe in Baker Mayfield,” Stefanski said on a conference call last week, per cleveland.com. “I just think organizationally we believe in Baker Mayfield and this was part of my job and our job to surround him with some people that are going to help make the best version of Baker Mayfield.”
The Browns signed veteran Case Keenum to a three-year deal this offseason to backup Mayfield, but have been adamant there’s no QB competition in Cleveland.
Browns Looking at Baker Mayfield’s Footwork
GettyBrowns quarterback Baker Mayfield.
A healthy receiving corps and consistent play-calling will help Mayfield. But new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt proposed a change in footwork could help Mayfield find success.
“I have a belief and a philosophy of footwork, and it’s extremely important to me — Kevin [Stefanski] as well,’’ said Van Pelt. “It all starts with the feet. The feet never lie. They get you through your progressions. So just some of the ways that we’ll have him drop both from under center and in the gun will change slightly to help him.
“I’ve always used the term I want the feet to be like Mozart and not like Metallica, if that makes sense, and not to say that he is. But with the footwork, it’s just a fluid motion. You’re really back there dancing through the pocket as you go through your progressions.”
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