Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield is coming off a 2023 season during which he loved precisely the sort of profession revival he hoped to have when he signed a one-year, $4 million deal (plus incentives) with Tampa Bay final March.
Earlier than signing with the Bucs, Mayfield in fact cut up his 2022 between three totally different groups. He was first unceremoniously dumped by the Browns — the group that drafted him with the No. 1 general decide in 2018 and earned its first playoff win since 1994 underneath the path of the previous Oklahoma quarterback. He then struggled to discover a house among the many dysfunction that’s the Carolina Panthers.
And eventually, he completed out the season with a little bit of a happier stretch in Los Angeles with a Rams group that had misplaced Matthew Stafford and had little to play for within the season’s closing weeks.
So, when an all-of-a-sudden well-traveled Baker Mayfield signed with the Bucs after Tom Brady’s February 2023 retirement, there wasn’t a complete lot of fanfare.
Quick ahead to now and the quantity of fanfare round Mayfield in Tampa Bay is on a totally totally different stage. He helped the Bucs overcome a 4-7 begin final yr to three-peat as NFC South champions, then he led them to a house playoff win over the Eagles earlier than the season got here to a crushing finish in Detroit the next week.
However by the point his one-year cope with the Bucs was up, he had thrown for 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns to 10 interceptions within the common season in addition to 686 yards and 6 touchdowns to 2 interceptions within the playoffs. And for good measure, he was the Offensive MVP on the Professional Bowl Video games, the place he was a alternative for Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott.
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Picture by: Cliff Welch/PR
This offseason, Baker Mayfield was rewarded for his profession renaissance with a three-year, $100 million contract. He has received over town and might now name it house for the foreseeable future.
It’s been an important yr for Mayfield, to make certain. On prime of his Comeback Participant of the 12 months-worthy season in Tampa and the big-money contract he signed, he and his spouse, Emily, turned mother and father this offseason.
So, what’s subsequent for Baker Mayfield? Nicely, anybody who has adopted his profession for any period of time will know he received’t relaxation on his laurels and coast. He’ll push for extra and he’ll maintain that very same chip on his shoulder that has made him a fan favourite since his school days.
And that chip on his shoulder might develop even bigger and he’ll really feel he has much more to show in 2024 — particularly after Professional Soccer Focus launched its newest quarterback rankings forward of the brand new season.
The place Does PFF Rank Baker Mayfield Amongst NFL QBs?
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Picture by: USA At this time
PFF’s Trevor Sikkema — a Pewter Report alum — launched his 2024 quarterback rankings this week, and Bucs followers might not love the place Baker Mayfield was listed.
Below “Tier 5: Can Single-handedly Win And Lose Video games,” Mayfield was ranked because the Twentieth-best quarterback within the league. Right here’s what Sikkema needed to say about Tampa Bay’s $100 million man:
“Mayfield performed on a one-year, “prove-it” deal in 2023, the place the “prove-it” half may have spelled the tip of his time as an NFL starter. It wasn’t his greatest season, by the numbers, however it was sufficient to get him a three-year extension. His final 4 video games of the yr have been the catalyst.
“Total, Mayfield was erratic, with 25 big-time throws and 22 turnover-worthy performs. However over the ultimate 4 video games he earned a top-10 passing grade, together with an elite Week 15 efficiency on the street in Inexperienced Bay that propelled the Buccaneers to a robust end and a playoff berth.”
Coming in forward of Mayfield and rounding out “Tier 4: The Melting Pot Of Starters” was Arizona’s Kyler Murray at No. 17, Seattle’s Geno Smith at No. 18 and Chicago’s Caleb Williams — the highest decide within the 2024 Draft — at No. 19.
Following Mayfield in Tier 5 are New Orleans’ Derek Carr at No. 21, Pittsburgh’s Russell Wilson at No. 22 and Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson at No. 23.
What Baker Mayfield Has To Do To Rise Up The Ranks In 2024
When taking Baker Mayfield’s full 2023 season into consideration, No. 20 is true round the place many would most likely rank him amongst different beginning quarterbacks within the league. As a result of whereas he and the Bucs completed sturdy — going 5-1 down the stretch within the common season after which profitable a playoff sport — there have been loads of not-so-good occasions earlier than that.
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield Picture by: USA At this time
In any case, Tampa Bay did begin 4-7 and whereas nobody would dare blame Mayfield alone for that, he had his share of struggles. He was simply 15-of-25 for 146 yards, a landing and an interception in a Week 3 loss to the Eagles. In a Week 6 loss to the Lions, he was 19-of-37 for 206 yards, no touchdowns and an interception.
Mayfield struggled for lengthy stretches of losses to the Falcons and Payments, and even the primary two wins throughout Tampa Bay’s four-game profitable streak in December have been filled with struggles. The Week 18, 9-0 win over Carolina wasn’t a very good day for Mayfield both.
Merely put — as Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds just lately wrote — Baker Mayfield has to scale back the variety of clunkers he has in 2024. As a result of as sturdy as 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns to 10 interceptions appears on the entire, there have been six or seven video games that noticed the Tampa Bay quarterback at a lot lower than his greatest.
If Mayfield cuts that quantity in half — or does even higher than that — that’s when he’ll see his identify stand up the rankings subsequent yr. As Sikkema identified, per PFF metrics, Mayfield had 25 big-time throws and 22 turnover-worthy performs. That’s not going to get him ranked within the Prime 15, a lot much less any greater than that.
However extra consistency — and extra large performances like he had in Week 4 at New Orleans, Week 15 at Inexperienced Bay and Week 16 in opposition to Jacksonville — will see Baker Mayfield go from a feel-good, career-revival story to extra of an upper-echelon quarterback within the NFL.
Solely three QBs had a minimum of 10 video games with a number of Move TD’s this season:
– #Cowboys Dak Prescott– #Packers Jordan Love– #Buccaneers Baker Mayfield pic.twitter.com/LjqlLwXSfM
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 29, 2024
What do you suppose, Pewter Individuals?
Is Twentieth the best rating for Mayfield? Pontificate within the feedback under.
