CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns have been asked how they could keep everyone happy with multiple playmakers at wide receiver and running back surrounding second-year quarterback Baker Mayfield, but to the man charged with starting each play views it as a good problem to have.
Mayfield is confident in his receiving corps, led by Pro Bowlers Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr., and running back room, which second-year standout Nick Chubb will lead, and does not think ball distribution will be an issue during the 2019 season.
“I think it’s going to look like a lot of matchups that we need to take advantage of, a numbers game and seeing how they’re going to play us and be able to adjust off of that,” Mayfield said following Wednesday’s practice. “(It’s) being able to do our basic stuff, but then, adjust on what they’re doing.”
With Beckham Jr. and Landry, the Browns get an elite-level one-two punch at receiver and two players familiar playing alongside the other from their college days at Louisiana State University.
Over 59 regular-season games, including 56 starts, in five years with the New York Giants, Beckham Jr. turned 622 targets into 390 receptions for 5,476 yards and 44 touchdowns. Beckham Jr. averaged 92.8 yards per game, including a league-best 108.8 during the 2014 season.
Beckham Jr., a first-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft turned multi-time Pro Bowler, has put four 1,000-yard and three double-digit touchdown seasons on his resume.
Last season, Beckham Jr. recorded a 77-catch, 1,052-yard, six-touchdown effort for the Giants.
During his first season with the Browns after being traded by the Miami Dolphins in the 2018 offseason, Landry turned his 81 receptions into 976 yards and four touchdowns, rushed for 60 yards and one score on just three attempts and completed one of his two passes for 63 yards.
Additionally, Landry completed a two-point conversion pass to Mayfield in a 21-17 win over the New York Jets at FirstEnergy Stadium in Week 3.
“I’m very excited to see what we can do, what we’re capable of doing out there,” Mayfield said. “Like I said earlier, adjusting off what they’re doing and seeing if we can take care of some one-on-ones down the field.
“I’m still excited. You’re finally putting the pads on and it’s real. We’ve had a long offseason. It’s been a long wait. I feel like it’s been a longer one than last year, so we’re ready to go. I’m ready to go. It is all business.”
Mayfield believes everyone will be on the same page when the Browns kick off the 2019 regular season against the Tennessee Titans at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland Sunday, and has seen an increased sense of urgency in practices and meetings over the last 10 days.
“The next time they put on the pads, it’s going to be for real and you start to see that sense of urgency, and once the final cuts are made and you start seeing what type of team we’re putting together, it’s pretty exciting to see the energy that we’re bringing,” Mayfield said.
“I would say that the singular game mindset is important and getting off to a good start, for us, is important. We have a pretty tough first half of the season looking at the schedule. We have singular focus of taking care of business one week at a time, so the focus is on the Titans right now.”