Player Profile: Baker Mayfield

Heading into the 2019 season, it seemed to be all coming up roses for the Browns. After finishing the 2018 season strong, the Browns had a big off-season that included trading for Odell Beckham, Jr. With him in place alongside Nick Chubb, Jarvis Landry and second-year QB Baker Mayfield, the Browns were a trendy playoff pick. Then the wheels came off the bus.

The game, at times, seemed too big for the Browns and their first-year head coach, Freddie Kitchens. The team struggled out of the blocks, going 2–6 in the first half and finishing with a 6–10 record, including losing their final three games. And what’s worse, Baker when from a potential MVP candidate to looking lost in his first full year as a starter.

The Browns’ flop in 2019 led to Kitchens’ exit, and now the Browns head into the 2020 season with a talented roster on paper, a new coach in Kevin Stefanski and, perhaps, some new optimism.

Sophomore Slump

Baker burst onto the scene in 2018, after being taken as the No. 1 overall pick. While Tyrod Taylor began the season as the starter, it didn’t take long for Baker to take over. He started the final 13 games, going 6–7. In that space, he threw for 3,725 yards and 27 TDs along with 14 INTs. The hot finish along with a big off-season seemed to indicate a big 2019.

Instead, Baker started all 16 games, still only won six, and threw for 3,827 yards and 22 TDs while tossing 21 INTs. Part of that was not really connecting with OBJ. The Browns’ receiver started his career on fire, amassing at least 90 receptions each of his first three seasons. In his fourth season, he struggled with an injury and in his final year in New York, it didn’t seem like a great fit. Coming over to the Browns to pair with a hot young quarterback and his old college teammate in Landry appeared to be an ideal fit.

Instead, in 16 games, Beckham caught just 74 passes for 1,035 yards and four TDs in 16 games. That was fewer receptions in a full season in Cleveland than in just 12 games in his final season in New York. And, at times, it seemed like the receiver and his quarterback were on different pages. That combined with uneven blocking and, at times, curious play calling led to the Browns’ struggles in what had seemed like a potentially promising season.

Changes in 2020

So will it be different this year? Not content with what they saw in 2019, the Browns’ front office went to work this off-season. They brought back Kareem Hunt, keeping a strong tandem in the backfield. And they went out spent big for tight end Austin Hooper. Hooper had 75 receptions for 797 yards and six TDs last season, his second straight season with 70-plus receptions. That figures to give a boost to a position that wasn’t a vital part of the Browns’ attack after David Njoku was injured last season. And Njoku is still there, too, giving the Browns a couple options at tight end.

But perhaps the biggest change was bringing in Stefanski, a long-time assistant coach for the Minnesota Vikings. Stefanski has spent his entire professional career in Minnesota, beginning with the team in 2006. He has served as an assistant QB coach, quarterback coach, tight end coach, running back coach and, in 2019, as offensive coordinator. During that time he’s worked with a number of quarterbacks, from Brett Farve to Christian Ponder, Teddy Bridgewater to Kirk Cousins. And the hope is his guiding hand will help Mayfield continue to develop, and the Browns to maximize their talent on the field.

Stefanski served as the Quarterback Coach in 2017 and 2018, then as offensive coordinator in 2019 for the Vikings. During that three-year span, the Vikings had a winning record and made the playoffs twice. In 2017, it was behind Case Keenum, who guided the Vikings to the NFC Championship Game. In 2018 and 2019, he worked with Cousins. While looking at the yardage totals and touchdown totals, it isn’t exceptional. But what you see in those seasons is efficiency and ball security. Last year, as the Vikings went 10–6 and made the playoffs, Cousins threw for just 3,606 yards and 26 TDs, but he also only tossed six interceptions. And that might be reason for optimism for Baker and the Browns.

A Bounce Back in 2020?

So is Baker worth grabbing in fantasy? It depends on what you’re looking to get. If you’re grabbing a QB early, Baker isn’t likely to reach the heights of a Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson. But I think he’s better than what we saw in 2019. And a lot of that optimism comes from the fact he still has good weapons, has a good running game and has a coach that figures to help him clean up on the mistakes that ruined his season and the Browns’ playoff chances in 2019.

Cousins isn’t an exciting name, but he was solid for fantasy. He finished 2018 a QB13, throwing for 4,298 yards and 30 TDs against only 10 INTs. In 2019, he finished as QB15 despite throwing for fewer yards than Mayfield, who was QB20. Cleaning up the turnovers should help boost Mayfield’s finish in fantasy. While the real win for Browns fans might be the team being in playoff position, improved fantasy numbers will be a win for Mayfield owners. He’s currently going as QB14 in PPR and QB18 in Standard, and that feels about right. With his weapons, I think Mayfield has a chance to be a low-end QB1 (QB11–12 finish), and seems a solid bet for QB2. As we saw last year, he comes with some risk. But a year removed from the hype, I think we might finally see a competitive Browns team we thought was coming in 2019, and Baker seems poised to take a step forward in year three.