Mayfield’s leadership skills shine at camp
Baker Mayfield BEREA — seemed to be mildly offended by the question. The Browns quarterback was asked Wednesday whether he talked to his wide receivers after he yelled at them Saturday, when he shouted on the field as a play ended to “work the (bleeping) scramble drill, or instead just let it go.
Following the sixth practice of training camp, it’s clear Mayfield is the unquestioned leader of the Browns, so he considered it his responsibility to sort everything out with superstar receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and other teammates.
“You’ve got to talk through it,” Mayfield said. “Going to harp on it, then I’m going to talk to them. Those guys know that that’s a big part of our offense.
“If we get lazy and we let things slide, we need to be overcommunicating right now. That’s what the good teams do. We’ve got to be on the same page.”
Mayfield explained he believes Beckham appreciates being held accountable.
“Absolutely, and I think there’s an appreciation from my end that he’s able to come communicate and talk through things,” Mayfield said. “Having that open relationship — obviously there’s a chain of command, what (coach) Freddie (Kitchens) says goes — but just being able to talk through things and see it from their perspective or mine is really good.”
A year ago at this time, Mayfield didn’t have the authority to speak up. Tyrod Taylor was the starting quarterback. Mayfield was the rookie backup, even though he was also the No. 1 overall draft pick.
“It would be kind of hard for the backup QB in training camp to be very vocal last year,” Mayfield, 24, said. “So this year is definitely a lot different.”
In college, Mayfield became the fearless leader of the Oklahoma Sooners, so he’s comfortable in the role. In his first training camp under Kitchens, Mayfield is able to be himself, to unleash his brash personality, because he sits atop the QB depth chart.
“For (my teammates) to see the same guy every day and know what’s expected, they know I’m going to push them, they know I’m going to push myself,” Mayfield said. “So it’s nothing personal when it comes to getting after somebody, and I expect them to hold me accountable as well. And that’s the beauty of having guys that really want to win.”
For the Browns to win this year like many outsiders expect, they’ll need to execute much better than they did Wednesday. Balls were on the ground throughout the session. Dropped passes, penalty flags, missed kicks and boneheaded decisions plagued the practice.
They need to be smart. They need to have chemistry.
“Chemistry’s definitely the issue now,” Mayfield said. “We’re getting on the same page. Being able to communicate was what we stressed on very early in the process, and now it’s being able to execute. Chemistry is a big part of it, but being able to talk through things and get as game-like in situations as possible to where we can realize how I need to throw the ball, where it needs to be thrown; that’s what we’re stressing.”
There’s no doubt Mayfield’s leadership is a crucial factor in the quest for chemistry.
“It’s important for everybody to make sure that I’m saying the same things and relaying the same messages that Freddie is, that our receivers coach is, and we’re all saying the same thing,” he explained. “Got to be on the same page. So that’s what some of these guys need to be hearing is the same voice of reason.”