Cleveland Browns: Will ‘force feeding’ Odell Beckham Jr. help?

Baker Mayfield said the Cleveland Browns need to force feed the ball to Odell Beckham Jr. to get him involved early, but will that help the offense?

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. showed his frustrations with his lack of touches during the fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos. After beating single coverage but not getting the ball thrown to him on a fourth down, Beckham voiced his displeasure.

Beckham not getting the ball has been a theme all season. Despite being one of the most talented wide receivers in the NFL, the Browns have not taken too many shots with Beckham. Because of that, Beckham is on pace for a career worst season.

Knowing how frustrated Beckham is, Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield said Wednesday the Browns need to “force-feed” Beckham the ball early in games so they can take shot plays with him later in the game.

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"“I think people have this picture perfect thing where it was going to be sunshine and rainbows, and he was going to have a whole lot of one-on-ones. It is Odell Beckham. He is going to have double coverage, and we have to find ways to format things to get him the ball and force feed him early on to where he can make an impact before we can have the perfect look to have a shot play. That is something we have learned the hard way, but I think as the weeks have gone on, we are continuing to improve on how to get the ball to him.” – Baker Mayfield via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk"

With Cleveland’s offense as stagnant as it has been this season – except for when handing the ball off to Nick Chubb – forcing the ball to Beckham may not be an issue. Beckham showed late in the Broncos game he can make incredibly difficult catches and turn them into big plays with his ability to gain yards after the catch. Cleveland’s offense needs as many explosive plays as they can get right now, and Beckham can reward with them with those types of plays.

If the Browns can pick apart defenses in the short and intermediate part of the field early in games, it can create openings for the Browns to use Beckham downfield later in games, as Mayfield suggested.

However, with the tight coverages Beckham is facing regularly, getting him the ball early can be easier said than done. If Cleveland tries to force the ball to Beckham despite the coverage regularly and multiple passes fall incomplete, it can stunt Cleveland’s drives. Although Beckham can make tough catches in tight windows, him making those types of plays is not something the offense should rely on.

The Browns will try to scheme Beckham open to get him the ball early on in games. But as evidenced practically the entire season, doing that has not usually worked. Whether it be dropped passes or inaccurate and poor-timed throws from Mayfield, Beckham’s targets have often led to incompletions. Beckham has a catch percentage of 58.2 percent this season, which would be a career low.

It is obvious the Browns need to find ways to get Beckham the ball. And by getting him involved early, it could help open up vertical shots later in games for all of the receivers. But the Browns cannot hurt the flow of their offense in games just so they can give Beckham a touch. With as many problems the offense has had this season, they need to keep the flow of their offense in every series so they can move the ball downfield. But they will have to find the middle ground of forcing the ball to Beckham while also keeping an offensive rhythm.