BEREA, Ohio — How will the collection of personalities within the Cleveland Browns’ locker room be able to co-exist?
That question has been asked many times since the Browns acquired wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. from the New York Giants in March, but to the multi-time Pro Bowl pass catcher, there is only one leader: quarterback Baker Mayfield.
“When we get on the field, it’s time to work,” Beckham Jr. said following Friday’s practice at team headquarters in Berea. “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. You’ve got a guy like Baker and just the way that he is, you just want to work for him. There’s nothing else but you just want to work for him.”
When it comes to the practice field, Mayfield is not afraid to have fun in-between drills or strum the air guitar after a song about his home state, Texas, plays on the speakers, he knows when it is time to buckle the chinstrap and get to work.
That includes correcting his teammates when an incorrect route is run or telling a wide receiver to get up and run for a touchdown if he was not tackled or tagged down by the defense.
“Everything takes time,” Beckham Jr. said of developing chemistry with Mayfield. “Everything that's great comes with patience, takes time, so we're still developing.
“The best part about it is it's training camp. It's not real season right now, so we're just trying to all get on the same page, get everything down, but it's been a lot of fun, working with Coach Freddie, Bake and everybody else just trying to get better each and every day.”
Beckham Jr. has not been exempt from a talk with Mayfield during the first week-plus of training camp, but that is okay with him because it is done in betterment of the team.
“I just tell him to do what he does,” Beckham Jr. said. “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. 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.
“Once you get on the same page, I just feel like it’s going to be scary.”
Between Beckham Jr., his lifelong friend, Jarvis Landry, Mayfield and running back Nick Chubb, the offense has no shortage of talent, and it is not limited to their side of the ball. Beckham Jr. is confident the Browns will have a well-rounded team in 2019.
“It’s like being on an AAU team,” Beckham Jr. said. “Everybody around you is good, but that’s how it is in the NFL in general. Everybody around you is good. When you have so many weapons and I see Jarvis running down the seam wide open, and you see him go up and make a catch, it’s inspiring.
“You see other people make plays like you want to make plays. Everybody wants to make plays. I think the goal would be each and every game to make as many plays as possible and see the outcome. With the defense we have, I don’t feel like people are going to score many points.”
