Baker Mayfield impressing Kevin Stefanski, Drew Brees with growth

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield has impressed his head coach Kevin Stefanski with his growth as a player, as well as former Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees. Mayfield finished their preseason matchup against the Atlanta Falcons with 113 yards and a touchdown with a 132.5 passer rating.

Baker Mayfield impressing Drew Brees

During NBC’s Sunday Night Football broadcast, Brees said a 22-yard touchdown pass from Mayfield to wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge impressed him. Stefanski agreed with him and stated it showed the quarterback’s growth, via Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal.

“I thought it was a really good throw, his technique, some of the nuances he’s putting into his technique,” Stefanski said. “He’s really grown in some of the things he’s doing out there.”

Brees agreed with Stefanski that his ability to make such a throw showcased just how far Mayfield has developed.

“One of his big emphases this offseason was matching up his feet with his eyes,” Brees said of Mayfield. “Not many people can make this throw. Naked bootleg to his left, having to flip his hips and throw it.”

An early frustration for Mayfield against the Falcons was their pass rushers batting down passes. Stefanski viewed this as a good learning experience though, highlighting that it won’t become a strategy defense use against Mayfield.

Stefanski explained that the Browns themselves use the same techniques in pass rush, and that Mayfield will learn how to complete more passes by seeing it now.

“It’s something we coach as well when you feel like the quarterback is [on] his back foot and the ball’s coming out and you’re not at the quarterback, to get your hands up. Those are the type of things that are really good for Baker and Case [Keenum] to feel because you’ve got to sometimes slide [to] one spot or the other or change your arm angle, those types of things, to complete a pass.”

Mayfield making the leap

In 2020, Mayfield passed for 26 touchdowns, while throwing just eight interceptions, one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the league. The Browns won 11 games with Mayfield at the helm last season, the most Cleveland has won in over a decade.

Mayfield’s work earned him a spot in the NFL top 100 players list for the first time in his career.

But where Mayfield had the most growth was in his interception numbers. In his first two seasons, Mayfield threw double-digit interceptions in each year for a grand total of 35. Stefanski previously highlighted Mayfield’s strides in protecting the ball last season.

“I know he took really good care of the football,” Stefanski said. “That is always going to be the point of emphasis for our offense, in general, is taking care of that thing because we put such an emphasis on the turnover margin. That would be one thing that comes to mind.”

He threw just eight interceptions on the year in 2020. And he was able to do this while one of his star receivers was hobbled with injuries throughout the season in Jarvis Landry, the other was out for the season with a torn ACL in Odell Beckham Jr.

On3’s Justin Rudolph contributed to this article.