The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Coming soon: Baker-OBJ
Browns fans who happen to also be super hero fans can debate long into the night which is anticipated more: The first pass Baker Mayfield completes to Odell Beckham Jr. in a game or the next Marvel movie?
Black Widow won’t be in theaters until spring 2020.
The Mayfield-Beckham show starts Sept. 8 in sold out FirstEnergy Stadium against the Titans in the 2019 season opener. Mayfield and Beckham will have to be super heroes in their own right to live up to all the hype that began building the moment Browns general manager John Dorsey acquired Beckham in a trade with the Giants in March. The fact Beckham did not play a single snap in preseason only adds to the anticipation.
“Odell is ready to go,” Browns coach Freddie Kitchens said before practice Sept. 4. “The sense of urgency with these guys has definitely increased, and it needs to. I think it has been over the past week and a half.”
A hip injury prevented Beckham from participating in team drills most of training camp. Keeping Beckham (and fellow receiver Jarvis Landry) on the sideline in preseason games was all about making sure he gets to the regular season healthy.
Beckham has been back in team drills for two weeks. But does the work Mayfield and Beckham put in on their own prepare them for the game speed they’ll encounter against Tennessee?
“Yes, it does,” Mayfield said in the locker room after practice in Berea. “I didn’t take a snap with Jarvis all last year during the preseason, so yeah, it’s probably pretty overblown.”
Landry caught 81 passes in 2018 — 68 of them, and all four touchdown catches, from Mayfield in 14 1/2 games.
Beckham was scheduled to meet with reporters Sept. 4, but he postponed the session until Sept. 5. Since everyone has been waiting almost six months to see him catch a pass from Mayfield in a game, one more day to hear what he has to say isn’t too long to wait. Besides, others were pleased to talk about the difference Beckham could make to the Browns offense.
“Worth every penny — definitely,” Browns safety Damarious Randall said. “His run after catch is like really the most impressive stuff I’ve seen about him. How quick he is, how elusive he is. I think he’s faster than what a lot of people give him credit for.”
Beckham, picked 12th overall by the Giants in 2014, has 390 catches for 5,476 yards and 44 touchdowns over five seasons with his former team. Injuries restricted him to four games in 2017 and 12 last year, which explains why the Browns kept him out of preseason games and also partially explains why the Giants were willing to trade him to the Browns for picks 17 and 95 in the 2019 draft plus safety Jabrill Peppers.
“I think he’s excited to get back to football,” Mayfield said. “He’s feeling healthy and he’s ready to go. Just talking to him and knowing who he is, he’s very excited to get back on the field with a fresh start. I wouldn’t say it has anything to do with the outside, but he’s ready to do it for himself.”
It should be pick your poison for the Titans on Sept. 8.
They cannot double team everybody. Opponents often doubled up on Landry last year, and that opened opportunities for wide receiver Rashard Higgins, tight end David Njoku and wide receiver Antonio Callaway.
“I have full confidence in all of our guys, all of our playmakers, our skill position guys,” Mayfield said. “If they have one-on-ones, they should be licking their chops because they should all take that as disrespect. But that’s the type of team that we have and need to take advantage of. It’s going to be a matchup game.”
Mayfield set an NFL rookie record last year throwing 27 touchdown passes. The Titans game up 21 passing touchdowns in 2018.