Freddie Kitchens and the Browns are counting on Baker Mayfield to replicate his ability to succeed in the red zone from 2018. (John Kuntz, cleveland.com)

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CLEVELAND, Ohio - As the 2019 season approaches, one of the larger focal points will be how Baker Mayfield takes his game to the next level.

However, as we approach how Mayfield's 2019 might shape up, it is imperative to understand where he thrives. With Mayfield, it was no more obvious than in the tightest part of the field: the red zone.

The red zone is defined by the offense having the ball at, or inside, the opponents' 20. When the offense has the ball here, the game condenses and QB decisions have to be made quickly. Mayfield did just this in 2018.

For the season, Mayfield had 38 completions on 57 attempts, for a 66.67 completion percentage -- good for fifth best in the NFL. Mayfield also had 20 touchdowns, zero interceptions and 264 yards. His 116.5 passer rating tied Drew Brees for best in the NFL.

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As a comparison, for recent memory, Deshone Kizer had eight touchdowns, six interceptions, and just 105 yards with a 33.33 completion percentage in 2017.

Browns fans saw both ends of the spectrum in recent years. With Mayfield, when the game condensed the most, he took his game to another level. In turn, the offense improved and it led to seven more wins in 2018.

Let's dig into the film to see exactly how Mayfield performed so well in his rookie campaign.

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Red Zone Fade Route

The red zone fade has its detractors, but when run properly, it can be a deadly tool for an offense. It requires a receiver, usually an isolated player, to run a vertical route straight down field, and the quarterback to loft the ball to its highest point for the receiver to go up and win the catch over the defender covering him.

Mayfield has a knack for accuracy on these throws. Putting the perfect amount of arc and touch on the ball can be challenging, but his performance on this was usually very accurate.

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Mayfield targeted Jarvis Landry more than any other receiver in the red zone. He threw to Landry on 18 attempts for 10 completions and two touchdowns. This corresponded to a passer rating of 99.8, and a 44 percent success rate. Landry might not be the best athlete but his footwork is sound in tight situations.

In three of the above clips, Mayfield also targeted his big tight end David Njoku. The height and athleticism were on full display on these throws in 2018, and three of his four touchdowns came through this route.

Njoku caught five of eight red zone targets for four touchdowns, resulting in a passer rating of 109.4, and a 50 percent success rate. Effective in a small number of total attempts.

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Red Zone Anticipation

In the red zone, windows close quickly as the field condenses, and decisions have to be in the smallest time frames.

Mayfield displayed the anticipation trait that evades so many rookies, often exclusive to the game's best. Film study is imperative and understanding tendencies can make the difference between a touchdown and an interception.

Even before the move to promote Freddie Kitchens to offensive coordinator, Mayfield displayed the anticipation trait that he carried throughout the season and took off to another level the back half of the season. Let's take a look.

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Against the Jets, in Mayfield's first NFL action, you will see the anticipation on display. The Browns run a two-back scheme with Landry aligned to the left in the slot. They pull a high/low on the Will linebacker (No. 58). Watch as Mayfield reads Darron Lee's hesitation and delivers this ball with anticipation off the break to Landry. The window was extremely tight and took immense arm talent. Red zone anticipation on display early in the season.

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In the Browns' first matchup with Baltimore, Mayfield flashed the anticipation again when running the Mills concept. His read is the play side safety. If the safety jumps the dig route (10 yards in) then Mayfield should throw the post over the top. Mayfield anticipates Baltimore's Tony Jefferson jumping the route and finds Rashard Higgins on the post behind it. Mayfield had a perfect passer rating to Higgins in the red zone (158.3), albeit on only four targets, but three of those four receptions were for touchdowns.

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From the empty set in Tampa Bay, Mayfield is reading the Mike linebacker's choice of coverage. If he carries with the seam, drop it to the square-in, and if he jumps the square-in then you throw the seam immediately. Watch how quickly Mayfield processes the linebacker's choice to jump the square-in and delivers this ball to Landry quickly up the seam for the touchdown.

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This throw from Mayfield in Denver was one of the more notable from his rookie year. He adjusted the play pre-snap to take advantage of the coverage look the Broncos presented. Watch as Mayfield uses his eyes and shoulders to move the secondary and open the necessary window.

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He uses the shoulder, hand separation off the ball, and it works to pull the safety down to cover Duke Johnson's flat route.

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Then as soon as the safety fully commits, he slings this one into the void on the slant for the go-ahead touchdown. Anticipation on prime display here.

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This throw is less about anticipating coverage, and more about anticipating the movement in front of him. Mayfield recognizes that his initial throwing lane is covered on this arrow route to Higgins, so he adjusts with a pump fake, and fits this throw in tightly to Higgins before the blitzing linebacker gets into the window.

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The Steelers walk down in man-to-man coverage and Mayfield identifies it quickly. He allows Callaway to work across the formation and on the mesh concept by delaying as long as possible against the pressure and delivers an accurate ball with touch where only Callaway can find it.

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Red Zone Running Back Usage

As Mayfield's season wore on, he began using his running backs more.

When in the red zone, the running back becomes a useful tool for check down and advantageous matchups. Johnson is known for his receiving prowess and Mayfield targeted him often. Johnson had the most red zone targets of all Browns running backs. He caught six of eight targets for three touchdowns, a passer rating of 126.6, and a 38 percent success rate.

When the Browns needed a big play in the toughest part of the field, they never shied away from using their backs, including Nick Chubb, who also proved to be proficient in the passing game.

Rail routes, settle routes, and screen game, the running backs were a weapon Mayfield used well in the red zone in 2018.

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Red Zone Extending Plays

One of Mayfield's best traits from his rookie season was his ability to thrive within chaos, and extend plays when the protection broke down. This translated well when it came to the red zone.

Mayfield would find either protection concerns or quality coverage, and like he did all over the field throughout the season, he would escape, extend the play and deliver an accurate ball on the move.

Mayfield rarely escaped the pocket to run the football. Rather he extended plays to allow his receivers time to get open, and he had a keen knack for delivering highly accurate footballs on the move. Often when conditions were toughest for high levels of accuracy.

Here are some of his examples.

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The Browns go with mirrored (same on both sides) route concepts here with wheel routes by the inside players and dig routes by the outside receivers. Cincinnati covers it well but Mayfield escapes the pocket to his left and when he does, Callaway redirects from his inside route and works back to the sideline. Mayfield delivers an accurate ball moving to his left. Callaway led the team in end zone targets (9) and end zone target percentage (min. 15 overall receiving targets). He caught six of eight red zone targets, four of which were touchdowns, which was good for a passer rating of 116.7. The 63 percent success rate with Mayfield was impactful as well.

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The Browns run a drive concept (dig with a shallow route) and Mayfield reads the angle route by his fullback first. Then Mayfield escapes to his right and on the run finds Darren Fells with an accurate ball on the move for a touchdown in the back right corner.

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Mayfield is forced to his right due to high-side pressure. When on the move he identifies Higgins in the corner of the end zone with a down corner. Mayfield delivers a precise throw over the corner and before Higgins leaves the end zone. Dropping this one in a bucket. This is the type of upper-echelon throw you rarely see from rookies.

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On a key fourth-and-1 situation against the Bengals, Mayfield initially wants his back but the Bengals cover it well with the play side linebacker. He then buys time floating to his right and hits Landry on the move when he redirects inside away from coverage. Fading away and throwing across his body, this throw is no easy task and Mayfield delivers.

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With the ball on the 1, the Browns go from "23" personnel with two backs and three tight ends. They run play-action and have one man out on the route. Fells is on the right side and blocks for a two count and releases late. The Bengals cover it well, but Mayfield extends the play all the way to the sideline and Fells boxes his man out to give Mayfield a small window. He delivers to Fells on the run at the last moment for the touchdown.

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Where Mayfield can still improve

Despite some of the league's most impressive numbers in the red zone, Mayfield was not perfect. He had opportunities he missed whether through not seeing a defender in coverage, not handling the blitz with quick processing, or just simply being inaccurate.

Mayfield did lead the league in the area, but that doesn't mean he won't strive for perfection and seek out ways to improve. Let's take a look at some examples of his misses.

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Against the Jets on third and goal, Mayfield identifies the seam route from Landry in trips, but never sees the lurking free safety who jumps the route. This ball should have been intercepted. Mayfield caught a break here. Occasionally he will misidentify coverage and it leads to poor decisions where he appears to miss coverage players in a zone. This can't happen in the red zone. The Browns scored a few plays later, but if this intercepted, that second half comeback likely never comes to fruition.

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The Browns go with a quick red zone RPO (run-pass option) and Mayfield gets a throw read. When he pulls it, he simply misses Landry on the now-slant route. The Browns had to settle for a field goal here, and lost this game 45-42. These are the types of misses that can linger and sting the next day when watching film.

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Again in the Raiders game, the Browns run an inside vertical exchange to Mayfield's left and he never identifies the pressure to that side. When quarterbacks get pressured, they are taught to replace the blitz with a throw to the vacated area. He never notices Njoku to his left and lofts a bad ball to a well-covered Callaway to his right. An opportunity missed as it led to a field goal.

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Final Thoughts

With Mayfield's rookie season, you really had to dig deep in the film to find many red zone mistakes. If a rookie is leading the league in passer rating in one of the game's toughest parts of the field, that means something. Mayfield's positive traits from Oklahoma carried over in his rookie year.

The challenge will be for Kitchens, and new offensive coordinator Todd Monken, to keep giving Mayfield answers in the red zone, and shy away from relying on his ability to extend the play.

However, Mayfield's ability to naturally extend plays for throwing outlets will likely mean his red zone performances will be solid throughout his career. The ability to buy precious seconds of time for receivers to work open means higher success rates.

The Browns have since added one of the league's best red zone targets in Odell Beckham, who has rare athletic ability and hand-eye coordination to make the impossible plays become realistic. This cannot be overlooked. Beckham ended 2018 tied for fifth in the NFL in red zone targets and touchdowns despite missing four games and his career film is littered with high-difficulty catches in the end zone.

The duo will be especially tough to handle in the red zone, and this likely means more elite finishes for Mayfield as his career advances.

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*All statistics from Pro Football Focus, Sharp Analytics, or NFL NextGen stats unless otherwise noted.

Jake Burns played quarterback at the collegiate level and also has coached at both the high school and college levels. You can read more X&O analysis from Burns at the OBR.

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