Browns: 5 Early bold predictions for Cleveland in 2020

Browns early bold prediction No. 2: Baker bounces back in a huge way

As far as individuals go, you can make the case that no single NFL player was as disappointing last season than quarterback Baker Mayfield. The No. 1 overall pick from 2018 performed sensationally when given the keys as a rookie. In 14 games and 13 starts, he completed 63.8 percent of his passes for 3,725 yards, 27 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He looked every bit like the goods.

Subsequently, expectations were incredibly high for his sophomore campaign. And he became the poster child for what went wrong with the Browns last year. As the O-line couldn’t contain, Mayfield became panicky and struggled with his accuracy and decision-making, two of the hallmarks of his game coming out of Oklahoma.

Overall, Mayfield finished his 2019 season completing only 59.4 percent of his passes with 22 touchdowns and 21 interceptions. His yards per game also dropped by 26.9 as well.

After that down year, there are questions abound with Mayfield and his viability as the long-term quarterback in Cleveland. But the weapons are still there, the offensive line has been largely fixed and he even has more options as well with the addition of Austin Hooper.

To me, this feels like a monster bounce-back season. Mayfield is going to have some interceptions always in his career because he’s not afraid of risks. However, he’s going to be more reliable, productive and efficient. For prediction’s sake, he’ll finish with a 65 percent completion rate, roughly 4,500 yards, 30 or more touchdowns and around 15 interceptions. All of that is a huge leap in the right direction.