The Cleveland Browns offense may only be scratching the surface of how good they can be. With Kevin Stefanski calling plays while being a first-time head coach, the Browns offense found traction in the second half of the season as he and Baker Mayfield settled in despite the loss of Odell Beckham Jr.
There has been some media and fan debate about Beckham’s absence actually helping the team’s offense take it up a notch but experience within the system is a more likely explanation. Especially when you take into account the lack of a true offseason and the limited practice time due to COVID-19, the longer the Browns were together the better they were going to be.
Now, the Browns get Beckham back to join his best friend Jarvis Landry, who has also been a lightning rod at times. Landry is paid like a top ten receiver but he isn’t a dynamic playmaker nor does he put up gaudy stats. What he does do is catch the ball, be a reliable target for Mayfield, block, play hard and provide a level of leadership that is hard to measure.
Pro Football Focus, which has already ranked Mayfield and both Browns running backs, Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, in their top ten, also think highly of the Browns receiving duo. PFF has Beckham Jr. ranked 18th overall in the league and Landry 21st.
Only Tampa Bay, Minnesota and Atlanta have a wide receiver duo ranked higher than the Browns starters. PFF notes Beckham’s slide since his time with the Browns:
The Freddie Kitchens experiment and playing through injury clearly didn’t help matters in Beckham’s debut season with the Browns in 2019, which ended up being the lowest-graded season of his career. He still wasn’t performing like his normal self in 2020 before a season-ending injury in Week 7 (73.7 receiving grade). We know Beckham can be a top-five receiver in the NFL, but his play as of late certainly doesn’t warrant such a ranking entering the season. It wouldn’t really surprise anyone if OBJ changes that in 2021, though.
If Beckham can return to a top-five level of play, the Browns offense could be one of the top two or three in the league. Landry, on the other hand, is lauded for spending more time outside than in the slot in recent years:
Landry, who was once infamously known for being only a slot weapon, accomplished those feats while seeing more reps on the outside. He ran the highest rate of routes from the outside in his career in both 2019 and 2020, combining to produce the sixth-best receiving grade on those plays. He went from the 22nd percentile in grade against single coverage in 2017 and 2018 to the 90th percentile on such reps in 2019 and 2020.
While PFF is only one site with their own way of grading players, it is exciting that they have the Browns offensive stars ranked so highly. Will be interesting to look at how they rate tight ends and offensive linemen for the team.