2 Browns Players Top PFF's 'Prove It' Years In 2020

On July 1, Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus released his list of players entering prove-it years in 2020, and two Cleveland Browns made the list.

Two #Browns top our list of players with a lot to prove in 2020⬇️https://t.co/BEPXCtNruG

— PFF CLE Browns (@PFF_Browns) July 1, 2020

Those two Browns are Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham Jr., and they are at the top of the list.

As a team, the Cleveland Browns are in need of a prove-it year after posting a 6-10 record in 2019.

With a new general manager and head coach, the Browns are ready to bounce back in what hopes to be a successful 2020.

They have improved their offensive line and signed Austin Hooper to a large deal.

There are many players who will need to step up for the Browns this upcoming season, but these may be the two who will determine if Cleveland makes the postseason this year.

1. Baker Mayfield

According to PFF:

“There may be no player under more intense focus than Baker Mayfield heading into Year 3. After finishing his rookie season with an 83.2 overall PFF grade (11th), he sank to just 73.5 (19th) as a sophomore as everything in Cleveland unraveled. This offseason for the Browns has been about fixing the pieces around Mayfield, but now he needs to prove he’s the player we saw in Year 1, rather than part of the problem. The talent is clearly there with Mayfield, but a once-deadly-accurate college passer slipped to 27th in adjusted completion percentage last season, and the flaws in his game were concerningly magnified, leaving him with a lot of work to do to reverse course.”

There have been many articles detailing Mayfield’s struggles in 2019 and how he will improve.

Bill Barnwell of ESPN recently wrote a comprehensive progress report on him.

Barnwell is cautiously optimistic about Mayfield’s future.

Meanwhile, PFF thinks that Mayfield is ready for a bounceback season:

“All the data points to Baker Mayfield bouncing back in 2020.”

🗣 @PFF_Steve pic.twitter.com/wTNZ5BDj6I

— PFF (@PFF) May 11, 2020

Monson details what went wrong with Mayfield statistically last season:

“There may be no player under more intense focus than Baker Mayfield heading into Year 3. After finishing his rookie season with an 83.2 overall PFF grade (11th), he sank to just 73.5 (19th) as a sophomore as everything in Cleveland unraveled.”

He was almost a top 10 quarterback in 2018, but he is closer to the bottom of the pack after a disappointing 2019.

The completion percentage was a cause for concern last season.

With Hooper providing a consistent presence at the tight end position, Mayfield may be able to improve.

Monson sees the talent in Mayfield:

“The talent is clearly there with Mayfield, but a once-deadly-accurate college passer slipped to 27th in adjusted completion percentage last season, and the flaws in his game were concerningly magnified, leaving him with a lot of work to do to reverse course.”

However, if this is an irreversible for course for Mayfield, the Browns may be looking for a new quarterback for 2021.

2. Odell Beckham Jr.

According to PFF:

“Though the Browns have resolved many issues this offseason, allowing the focus to rest on Mayfield, one of the few caveats to that is retaining trust in Odell Beckham Jr. to become the devastating receiver he was earlier in his career. Year 1 of the Mayfield-to-Beckham connection was little short of disastrous, but Beckham was playing through a sports hernia and wasn’t healthy all season. Throwing in Beckham’s direction in 2019 yielded a passer rating of just 70.5, but at his best, he has shown he is capable of breaking the elite 90.0 barrier in PFF grading (twice in his career), breaking tackles for fun (88 since he came into the league) and making circus catches look routine. Beckham needs to show that Cleveland’s faith has not been misplaced.”

Beckham’s struggles in 2019 are well-connected to Mayfield’s.

Monson makes an interesting point regarding how the success of Beckham and Mayfield may be dependent on the former New York Giants receiver’s ability to perform like a top-flight talent again:

“Though the Browns have resolved many issues this offseason, allowing the focus to rest on Mayfield, one of the few caveats to that is retaining trust in Odell Beckham Jr. to become the devastating receiver he was earlier in his career.”

In 16 games played in 2019, Beckham was about as productive as he was in 12 games played in his final year with the Giants:

2018: 124 targets, 77 receptions, 1,052 receiving yards, six touchdowns
2019: 133 targets, 74 receptions, 1,035 receiving yards, four touchdowns

Those numbers look concerning after Beckham played four fewer games in 2018 and produced relatively similar counting stats.

“Year 1 of the Mayfield-to-Beckham connection was little short of disastrous, but Beckham was playing through a sports hernia and wasn’t healthy all season.

Beckham’s injury may be to blame, and since he was looking healthy in his soccer game with the UCLA team, maybe the injury is in the rearview mirror.

In 2019, both Beckham and Mayfield struggled.

It is evidenced by Mayfield’s poor passer rating when throwing to his star receiver:

Throwing in Beckham’s direction in 2019 yielded a passer rating of just 70.5, but at his best, he has shown he is capable of breaking the elite 90.0 barrier in PFF grading (twice in his career), breaking tackles for fun (88 since he came into the league) and making circus catches look routine. Beckham needs to show that Cleveland’s faith has not been misplaced.”

On the bright side, Beckham did produce another 1,000-yard season, in 2019 but he was among the worst wide receivers in terms of incompletions that were his fault.

According to another article by Monson, Beckham was responsible for at least 12 incompletions in 2019.