Big 2020 for Baker - Browns Daily Dose

BIG 2020 FOR BAKER, BUT …

By STEVE KING

Seeing is believing.

It always has been, and it always will be.

And that’s why I think we will see a big 2020 for Baker Mayfield, who spoke with the media on Friday for the first time in months and months.

I’ve seen – we’ve all seen – Mayfield stand out in the NFL when he did so in the last half of his rookie season in 2018, carrying the Browns on his back and turning them from a loser into a winner. That was not a mirage. It is what he is capable of as a pro player.

But seeing is also believing for those who don’t think Mayfield can do it. They saw him struggle last season. Granted, some of it – perhaps even a big part of it – was the dysfunction of the team overall under head coach Freddie Kitchens. Just like him, the Browns were disorganized and unprepared and had no attention to detail. It showed in every player, including Mayfield. When he would misfire on a pass, was it simply because he was inaccurate or that the receiver ran a poor, or wrong, route? Who knows? But if the truth be told, it probably was a combination of both. It usually is in these cases, for football is a team sport.

Seeing is believing when trying to determine what path Mayfield will choose in 2020, one of progression or more recession. Every time he has been boxed into a corner in his football career and had to prove himself, from high school to college, especially college, he has done so remarkably well. Some guys need to get knocked down to be able to refocus. He is one of those people, and I don’t know why it would be any different now.

That’s the clincher for me. It’s my final argument in predicting a big 2020 for Baker Mayfield.

But I’ll know – we’ll all know – only from seeing it, for seeing is believing.