Odell Beckham Wants To Dominate In 2020, How The Browns Help Him Do it
I love Odell Beckham's take no prisoners mentality as he prepares for the 2020 season.
“I’m tired of playing your game. This year, I’m trying to kill. That’s it,‘’Beckham said as part of a round table discussion with Victor Cruz, Cam Newton and Todd Gurley titled "The Big Picture" that covered a number of topics including COVID-19, Black Lives Matter and perception.
If Beckham wants to dye his hair blond, pink or orange, I don't care. If dying it blonde gives him an edge, it wouldn't be difficult to put together a GoFundMe campaign to make sure his hair can always be its blondest.
Coming off the season where he played through pain every week and couldn't practice, then surgery and the rehab that went with it to correct the issue, he probably did not feel 'good' physically for almost an entire year. Going from managing pain daily to now being free from it, it's only natural he would feel able to take on the world. Given their investment, the Browns are going to make sure he has every opportunity.
The coaching staff believes that Beckham has bought in to what they intend to do, which would only further bolster his confidence.
“I want an opportunity to catch the ball. I want the same opportunities that all of these other receivers have in the league when they’re getting 2,000 targets, ending up with 150 catches, I want to be in a position where I can succeed because football is not the same as basketball. Football is so much more of a team sport.‘'
I've never met a receiver that doesn't want the ball, so this is a given. Beckham wants to make plays and help the team win. That's why the Browns traded for him.
“Each year I still have 1,000 yards and they want to talk about “you’re not the same player. I understand the game now. And that’s why you see the blond back. There’s nothing you can tell me.‘'
While Beckham has a point here, there's also reason for a little push back. There's no question that more targets overall are going to result in an increase in Beckham's production, but there's an efficiency question.
Beckham's rookie year was phenomenal. He was genuinely a sensation. He caught 91 passes for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns. It was on just 132 targets, meaning he caught 68.9 percent of his targets. That's 9.88 yards or almost a first down every time threw the ball at Beckham.
Since then, the highest percentage of passes he has converted into receptions was 62 percent, which occurred in 2018. Sadly, he only played 12 games or he might have had the year he put up the same type of numbers he did in his first three years.
His yards per target dropped to a still outstanding 9.1 in 2015, then became closer to average with 8.0 in 2016, and 8.4 in 2018.
2018 showed what Beckham still can be, what he knows he's capable of doing. That season may have been the reason Beckham mentioned being a 1,000 yard receiver not being the same player.
Last year, with a terrible head coach coupled with a groin injury that was not handled well by anyone, his catch rate dropped to 55.6 percent. His yards per target dropped to 7.7. It was the worst year of Beckham's career. Nevertheless, Beckham is right. He had 1,035 yards in 2019. Beckham at his worst is still better than most any receiver the Browns have had the past few decades.
So how do the Browns get Beckham more targets so he can have the type of production that he had his first three seasons in the league as well as 2018?
Run an effective offense.
The better the Browns move the ball, generate first downs and extend drives, the more plays they can run. The more plays they can run, the more opportunities they will have to get Beckham the ball.
Hopefully, Kevin Stefanski can put Beckham in positions to catch closer to the 68.9 percent rate he showed as a rookie, but if the Browns can consistently put together effective drives, they can give Beckham more targets. Further, sustaining drives makes it easier to get the offense into a rhythm and be more efficient.
When a team is accustomed to going three and out, which the Browns did 20.9 percent of the time according to Football Outsiders, it pressurizes every snap, particularly on second or third down. Players feel less confident, press and occasionally do themselves a disservice as they aren't confident they can convert and extend the drive. Moving the chains just once can take some off some of the pressure, provide a sigh of relief. That feeling is palpable and can be felt throughout the stadium.
This was part of what seemed like magic the second half of the 2018 season. Led by Baker Mayfield swaggering his way on the field, the entire offense always felt like they were going to score. First downs were trivial. In 2019, the offense struggled to get first downs much of the season and the players looked like they were walking on egg shells at times, particularly passing the ball.
So many things went wrong offensively in 2019, but the biggest indictment is the average number of plays per drive. Per Football Outsiders, the Browns averaged just 5.63 plays per drive, which ranked 28th in the NFL. The best team in the league was the Baltimore Ravens, who averaged 6.83 plays per drive.
The Browns had 177 offensive possessions while the Ravens had 158. Despite 21 fewer possessions, the Ravens ran 83 more plays. Beckham was targeted for a pass every 7.5 plays and if the Browns had run the same number of plays the Ravens did last year, that would've meant 11 more targets for Beckham.
There's no question that the Browns need to find ways to maximize Beckham. They'd be fools to not to, but the best way to get the ball to Beckham more is to make the offense more efficient overall.
