Joe Thomas saw an inordinate amount of bad quarterback play in his decade as the Cleveland Browns left tackle. And while he’s nowhere near as concerned over Baker Mayfield’s early lack of “wow” factor, Thomas expressed a little worry over Mayfield.
Thomas joined the Cleveland Browns Daily radio show on Tuesday and was candid about what he’s seeing from Mayfield through the first two games under new head coach Freddie Kitchens and OC Todd Monken.
“The fact the ball’s not coming out in rhythm is surprising and unsettling to me,” Thomas said. “We saw Baker patting the ball, trying to push it down the field. Even with some of the big plays being made, it didn’t seem to be happening in rhythm.”
He’s also noticing the complexity of the defenses lining up against the Browns, and how Mayfield is struggling to read them.
“It seems defenses are trying to do a lot more disguising,” Thomas said. “A couple of times (vs. the Jets), Baker was confused on whether it was man or zone.”
Mayfield has been criticized for holding the ball too long and not seeing the best option on some plays. His completion percentage is down from 63.8 in 2018 to 60.3, and he’s thrown four INTs to just two TDs.
It is worth noting the Jets defensive coordinator is Gregg Williams, who coached Mayfield in the final half of 2018 and knows the young QB very well. He presented looks with the defense he knew would give Mayfield and the Browns offense some problems.
