Trade Odell Beckham Jr.? That's a losing bet for Browns

Here's free advice for new Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry: Don’t trade Odell Beckham Jr. The idea that Berry might consider a deal doesn’t come completely out of nowhere. Beckham struggled through a down season in 2019, but the main reason for his woes is gone.

That would be Freddie Kitchens. The former Browns head coach was in over his head from the start, and while I’ll admit to being fooled into thinking his folksy demeanor belied his tactical acumen, it’s obvious in retrospect that he wasn’t ready to be an offensive coordinator, let alone a head coach.

Kitchens never found a way to get the most out of a roster filled with talent and ego in equal measure, and Cleveland was one of the sloppiest, most undisciplined teams in the league. The Browns averaged 7.6 penalties per game, fourth worst in the NFL, and repeatedly found themselves in the headlines for the wrong reasons, from Myles Garrett’s helmet swinging attack on Mason Rudolph, to Baker Mayfield’s various dust-ups, to Beckham’s obvious frustration with his role in the game plan.

Kitchens’ players didn’t respect him, and he didn’t give them a reason to, showing up in public in a “Pittsburgh Started It” T-shirt the week of Cleveland’s pivotal rematch with the Steelers, weeks after Garrett and Rudolph’s ugly skirmish. It may have been a cheap way to curry favor in his own locker room, but it looked amateurish, careless and desperate to just about everyone else. The Browns’ problem in 2019 wasn’t talent; it was a lack of leadership.

With Kitchens gone and former Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski in as his replacement, Cleveland has a chance at a fresh start –- again. That doesn’t mean turning over the roster and proclaiming last year’s team an irredeemable failure. The Browns’ primary objective should be figuring how to get the most out of Mayfield, and taking away his most dynamic receiving threat is not the way to achieve that.

Although Beckham is the most electric playmaker the Browns have, he’s coming off his worst full season as a pro. Beckham’s 68.7 offensive grade from Pro Football Focus was the worst of his career, and 72^nd overall among wide receivers. Trading him now, with his value at its lowest, would be foolish and short-sighted.

The Browns have a chance for a quick rebound because they still have plenty of top-end talent assembled. Their collection of stars is an opportunity, not an albatross. Since 1990, at least four teams each year have made the playoffs after missing the postseason the previous season. Cleveland is better positioned than most to join that club in 2020 simply because it got rid of a stubborn, overmatched, glorified position coach.   

Whereas Kitchens was unwilling to admit that he had too much on his game-day plate, and cede play calling duties to his offensive coordinator, Stefanski has already expressed his willingness to consider that strategy. That alone might be enough to spark a major turnaround, because atrocious play calls were a major issue for Cleveland last season, particularly in the red zone, and particularly where Beckham was concerned.

Consider this: In 2016 with the Giants, Beckham’s 21 red-zone targets were fourth in the NFL. In 2018, he had 18 targets, good for 14^th in the league. Last season, he had just 11 targets, tied for 44^th. It doesn’t seem like a particularly complicated concept; if you have one of the league’s best wide receivers, you should throw him the ball when you’re close to the end zone. Cleveland was just 14^th in red-zone touchdown percentage in 2019, despite having studs Beckham, Jarvis Landry, Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. That was down almost 10 percentage points from their 2018 success rate, when the Browns were sixth in the league.

Beckham and Mayfield never clicked in 2019, but dealing the receiver now would signal the Browns are changing their approach yet again. Beckham clearly  wasn’t the problem last season; his struggles were a symptom, not the illness itself. Berry must fix the mess he inherited, but trading his star wide receiver would not be smart.