KhaDarel Hodge (left) and Donovan Peoples-Jones join Rashard Higgins as receivers who will have to step up to replace injured Odell Beckham Jr. (Cleveland Browns)
You must have an active subscription to read this story.
Click Here to subscribe Now!
Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Takeaways from Browns practice and interviews …
It’s totally understandable that the Browns would repudiate the notion that their quarterback and offense may prosper without Odell Beckham Jr.
Beckham’s season is over as a result of a severe knee injury. Nobody wants to kick him when he’s down. He’s so likable and respected and revered by teammates. They feel badly for him after he played through a core muscle injury all last season and then rehabbed diligently from surgery to correct it.
So when the subject came up on Zoom calls on Wednesday, the reactions from Baker Mayfield and coach Kevin Stefanski were predictable.
“Number one, I think it is just completely insensitive to a guy that just tore his ACL,” Mayfield said. “I am not even going to comment on it. You never want to lose guys, and that is where I am going leave that one.”
There’s no doubt that Mayfield and Beckham never really connected as a passing tandem. This was more obvious in the 16 games last year.
There were always excuses – Beckham drew double coverage, Beckham played hurt, Mayfield didn’t have time for plays to evolve, Mayfield worried about shoddy protection. Yada yada yada.
Whether Mayfield pressed too hard to “feed” Beckham is impossible to prove. Some day he may admit to it. Brian Hoyer admitted, after the fact, that he felt pressure to get the ball to Josh Gordon in the 2014 season – coincidentally, in Kyle Shanahan’s offensive system very similar to Stefanski’s.
Despite Stefanski’s efforts to improve the situation under his watch, something was still amiss.
For an organization that uses comprehensive data to assist all decision-making, I will simplify the problem with one statistic.
Beckham’s catch percentage – receptions divided by times targeted – was worse in his two seasons with the Browns than in any of his five seasons prior with the Giants.
In 2019, Beckham was targeted 133 times and had 74 catches for a 55.6 catch percentage. That is not a healthy figure. It was worse in 2020. He was targeted 43 times and had 23 catches for a catch percentage of 53.5.
In five years with the Giants, Beckham’s catch percentage was 62.7 (390 catches in 622 targets). His best was 70.0 in his breakout rookie season in 2014 and his worst was 59.8 in 2016.
Further, Mayfield’s performance in his rookie season of 2018, pre-Beckham, coupled with his performance in the Cincinnati game after Beckham’s injury – 22 completions in a row, minus one spike to stop the clock – are impossible to ignore.
“I am not smart enough to make an argument for that,” Stefanski said. “I will just tell you, I would much rather have No. 13 on the field, if available to us. He is not, so we will make sure we have a plan to make sure we can move the ball any which way we can.”
Sometimes it takes a neutral observer to state the obvious.
Raiders coach Jon Gruden was asked on Wednesday about the Browns losing Beckham. He paid his respects to Beckham and stated the coaching bromide about others needing to step up.
“When I watched them play last week against Cincinnati, I felt that that was the path that they took,” Gruden said. “The ball distribution, the balance, and their ability to hang in there and come from behind and win was really impressive.”
Brownie bits