The real Baker Mayfield stood up
That isn’t to say that Baker Mayfield is entirely responsible for this rocky marriage; it’s now abundantly clear that the regression he went through in 2019 was due to the terrible coaching he received, and it took time for that to be fixed. He was not good through six games in 2020, and with the way he played, it was fair to wonder if he was truly broken.
But that wasn’t the case. The work that Mayfield put in with head coach Kevin Stefanski and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt cannot be understated, and the rewards were evident during the second half of the year. Mayfield’s ascension from bottom-five to top-five starter did not happen overnight. From Week 8 to Week 13, he played pretty well, but was still missing easy throws, and his accuracy was not consistent enough.
From the Week 14 victory against the Tennessee Titans onward, Mayfield was stellar. Flat-out fantastic, despite a wide receiver group with redundant skillsets that did not mesh well with Mayfield’s strengths. Mayfield is still nowhere near his ceiling as a player, and in order for him to get there, the WR room must drastically change. Getting Beckham back in 2021 will be a huge part of that.
OBJ ran 38 routes against the Ravens and I counted him open on at least 27 of them
— Sam Penix (@Sam_Penix) January 21, 2021
Just like in 2019, it seemed that Mayfield never looked in Beckham’s direction when he was open in 2020.