Berea, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Odell Beckham Jr. noticed Baker Mayfield’s throw wasn’t as deep and was going to behind him, so he slowed up, turned to his left, reached out and caught it with his left hand before falling out of bounds.
Another day, another incredible adjustment and catch by the Browns receiver.
Eight practices into camp, Beckham finds himself still trying to iron out some of the finer details of his game with Mayfield, but that’s what these days are for.
“There was a reason he was the first pick. There’s a reason he won the Heisman. There’s a reason he led Oklahoma to all those great seasons,” Beckham said Friday. “I just let him tell me what he thinks I should do and I’m just going to do that. He’s going to put it where it needs to be.”
During another 11-on-11 series, Beckham adjusted to catch a low throw from Mayfield, but it’s not always been smooth. Mayfield threw a ball to the back of the endzone where Beckham was battling with cornerback Terrance Mitchell and linebacker Christian Kirksey and unable to come up with the football.
“I feel like I should make that catch,” Beckham said. “He puts it in a good enough place, I should make that catch, and that was the first time we did it. That’s the stuff that comes with practice. Once you get on the same page, I just feel like it’s going to be scary.”
Beckham’s standards are ridiculously high. They usually are for the great ones.
Getting on the same page is about more than just knowing what’s supposed to happen when the ball is snapped.
“Obviously, being on the same page is better than not being on the same page. So it's just about figuring that stuff out, and that's the easy stuff to talk about. That's football,” Beckham said. “That's the stuff that's above the Xs and Os that just comes with you just talking. Communication is the key to life. It's essential. So just finding ways. If we didn't like something or if I did something wrong, go ask him. If he wants me to run a different way, we just say that and we just keep going.
“There's no egos or nothing here. We both are competitive people who want to win, and when you've got a guy like that, you never want to let him down. So just finding ways to get better really."
Following practice Beckham walked over to the Juggs machine where he started catching footballs with his left hand. After about 15 or so out of the gun, he took two steps to his left and did the same with his right hand.
Rinse, repeat.
100 or so footballs later, he didn’t drop any of them.
Beckham credits his best friend and teammate Jarvis Landry for showing him the way and getting him in the habit of working on the side after practice.
“Jarvis. That’s how it all started,” Beckham said. “I was very good in high school, I was always one of the most athletically gifted people in any sport that I played in, wherever I went, but he kind of showed me how to work and he showed me how to put the extra work in to go and make those catches. And now it’s easy. To go over there and catch it off the jug, don’t feel like I’m supposed to drop anything. It’s like repetition. The same as anything else, repetition.”
Beckham, wo got to know Mayfield during offseason workouts out in Los Angeles last year, demands perfection of himself, and so does his quarterback.
Last weekend Mayfield yelled at Beckham and the receivers for giving up on a scramble drill out of the pocket. Beckham respects Mayfield for getting after them in practice.
“I hate being yelled at,” Beckham said with a smile. “It’s time to work. When we get on the field it’s time to work. That’s the general and we’re all the chiefs. Him yelling at us to ‘get back to the ball, get back to the ball’ there’s no problem with it. He’s trying to get you open so he can make a throw to get yards for us so I completely understand it. And like I said, you got a guy like Baker and just the way that he is, you just want to work for him.”
