Browns: Baker Mayfield, Odell Beckham cooking up recipe for success this season

Baker Mayfield, OBJ Improvement: Experts in their craft

Both Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham are veterans and are entering an important time in their respective careers.

Beckham has been in the league since 2014 and this will be his eighth year in the NFL. His first three years as a New York Giant put him on the map of stardom. He had over 1,300 yards receiving those first three seasons and accumulated 35 touchdowns.

Since then, though his stats have shrunk considerably especially in the touchdowns caught. In those last two seasons with the Giants, he only registered three scores in 2017 and six touchdowns in 2018.

Though the numbers have dwindled of late, I still expect more from Beckham this season. His recovery from his major knee injury is a cause for concern, but he seems by all accounts moving and playing at a higher energy level than in recent years.

If you were Beckham and you were looking back at your career, wouldn’t you be wanting to reverse course and prove to the world that you weren’t getting worse? More importantly, I’m positive that Beckham is focused on improvements for himself too which is the “driving force” for most talented athletes.

You add into the mix Mayfield’s improving numbers, as last season was an early sign of great things to come this next season, then you’ve got a recipe for success. Last year, Mayfield finished with 26 touchdowns and only eight interceptions thrown. Seven of those interceptions happened in the first seven games of the season. He’s averaged above 3,500 yards thrown each of his first three years.

He ended up having 10 games, including the playoff win against the Pittsburgh Steelers where he threw multiple touchdown games. He threw three touchdowns in that playoff game win and also had five touchdowns thrown game against the Cincinnati Bengals, ironically in the game Beckham was injured last October.