What Tier Is Baker Mayfield?
February 13th, 2024
Ranking Baker Mayfield.
Man, the way some people carry on, it’s like the Bucs are trying to re-sign Mitch Trubisky.
Moments after Tom Brady retired a year ago, if Joe told you that the Bucs would somehow, magically come up with Dak Prescott to play quarterback, your reaction would likely be, “Hell yeah, let’s roll!”
If Joe told that somehow, Kirk Cousins would be the Bucs quarterback, You’d probably say, “Eh, OK, at least that’s better than Kyler Murray or Derek Carr. But we’ll still draft a quarterback.”
Well, the Bucs basically did sign Dak Prescott or Kirk Cousins. That’s what someone by the handle of KenJac of Barstool Sports typed.
This “KenJac” decided to cobble together quarterback tiers, sort of the same way Mike Sando of The Athletic does.
“KenJac” has Pat Mahomes by himself in the first tier. You can see the tiers breakdown here. Mayfield is in the fourth tier (“C” if you discount the Mahomes tier) along with Cousins and Prescott.
To me, Dak and Kirk are mirror images of each other. They’ll always have the stats and you’ll always bet against them the second they get into a playoff game. Jordan Love turned it on at the end of the year and I think he’ll take a step maybe 2 tiers up in this next season. And Baker, man, I’m just happy he has a home.
The only thing Joe would quibble with here is Tua. This tier system has Tua ranked ahead of Mayfield. Joe isn’t sure about that.
Mayfield proved this past year that given the right offense and the weapons like the Bucs have, he can do rather well. Like Joe heard a lot at the Super Bowl Media Center last week, if not Mayfield, who is out there?
Maybe Cousins.
February 13th, 2024 at 12:27 am
Average at best
February 13th, 2024 at 12:39 am
Baker can be pretty good at times. An early INT on the potential game winning drive in the playoffs isn’t exactly Tom Bradyesque.
I have not drank the same kool aid that the Joe’s clearly have.
I don’t really want him long term and I can’t stand Bowles.
I say use the franchise tag if possible. He’s worth another look for a season.
February 13th, 2024 at 1:05 am
“And Baker, man, I’m just happy he has a home.”
Nothing about his playing. Just happy he isn’t on the street? Not a great endorsement.
I would have put him in D+ myself.
He had more downs than ups this year. But…I do think he finished strong.
Now, my question going forward…can he improve on what he has started here? Because if he can’t…he is not worth keeping.
If he can…well…the sky may just be the limit.
February 13th, 2024 at 1:07 am
That pick Brady threw in the end zone in the first half of the playoff skewering to Dak’s Cowboys was a thing of beauty.
February 13th, 2024 at 1:35 am
What Mayfield did with a bad team this year was incredible.
Best job of a QB elevating a team that Ive EVER seen.
And I know my football
Mayfield shows the Talent that made him the Number one pick. Despite having 9 different offensive co-Ordinators- which is insane for a young QB yo go thru.
Give Mayfield stability with an Offensive Scheme- and he can be one of the best in the league.
He holds the record for longest thrown ball ball in the Air. He threw a ball 80 yards in the air.
He has incredible accuracy.
He has elte arm talent. I think he has the best arm in the league.
And Im not alone.
Now, he just needs to be able to grow in the same system for a couple years.
He is still a young maturing QB.
I think, 3 years from now, if Mayfield is still a Buc in Coens offense- Mayfield will be in the conversation for best QB in theleague.
And anyone who follows JoeBuc over the past decade knows that Capt Tim is right about 90% of the time. Probably more.
February 13th, 2024 at 2:08 am
Keep Baker and draft Penix or Nix…………Hey a man can dream right?!
February 13th, 2024 at 2:31 am
The band will come back together….trust me, they’ll make it work but still get paid…
1. Cooper DeJean
2. Jackson Powers
3. Audric Estime
February 13th, 2024 at 2:51 am
Wow on that chart he’d be an E.
February 13th, 2024 at 3:03 am
Baker is easily the 2nd best QB in the NFC. Well behind Stafford.
Bake Show really impressed me on film in awful situations. Man he’s got an arm. He’s not good at post snap processing but it feels like no QBs are these days.
As for Tua, he’s not a top 32 QB. I couldn’t believe my eyes seeing him routinely mess up in a Shanahan system with elite weapons. Even Mr. Irrelevant is playing C+ ball in that role.
February 13th, 2024 at 3:14 am
Captain Tim, I’ll second all that. Now give him his 200 million for 5 and be done with it already. The keys are highly accurate, tough, durable, team likable, people person, intelligent, and reliable. What more could a team want already? This ain’t rocket science.
February 13th, 2024 at 3:17 am
Oh, and he’s not looking for free crab legs on his days off, or eating W’s on game day! What more could you ask for?
February 13th, 2024 at 3:50 am
HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA
Is this is a serious post?
Mayfield is mediocre. Not great, not terrible, but mediocre.
How many games did he have where he passed for under 100 yards in the first half?
This is absurd. Mayfield is just a great NFL QB. Bucs need to move on.
February 13th, 2024 at 4:02 am
It’s a difficult one to place Baker due to him having to struggle through two poverty franchises like the Browns and Panthers, I can’t see any QB in the league going through what Baker did and having more success than he did.
It’s crazy to say but it’s only now in his 7th year that we will get to see a true metric of what Baker is capable of.
Putting Baker in C tier is fine with me but I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if he surprises a lot of people next year and climbs ranks drastically.
February 13th, 2024 at 4:09 am
Bring back the lawn chairs … ‘Now give him his 200 million for 5 and be done with it already.’
And IF Bucs pay him that $40 mil for 5 years, we’ll be stuck in salary CAP purgatory for mega-years. Translation? The TEAM around him won’t have the strength or depth that Baker NEEDS for him to succeed.
You ‘seconded everything’ that Capt Tim wrote, including I’m presuming that he saw the 2023 Bucs as a ‘bad team’ that Baker ‘elevated’. Gotta disagree with that analysis largely because …
o ‘Bad teams’ don’t end the year with the #7 Scoring Defense, allowing the least points of any Bucs team in over 15 years.
o ‘Bad teams’ don’t have perennial 1000 yard receivers like Evans AND Godwin for their QBs to throw to.
o ‘Bad teams’ don’t have the BEST kicker and punter combination in the NFL to salvage points & field position when their offense can’t git ‘er done.
Fact is that the 2023 Bucs were a decent TEAM that’s in the process of being rebuilt. I’ve warmed to Baker to the extent that he’s a good ‘fit’ for this young team at this point in time. I have no problem with JL giving him a decent offer for his services, but that’s NOT $200 million for 5 years’. Could see $25-$30 mil per year for 3 years though. That $10-$15 mil per year difference in what we offer will be critical to paying for additional talent to surround Baker with so he AND the TEAM can improve upon our 9-8 season.
February 13th, 2024 at 4:32 am
Baker is on our top tier now.
However, Bruce Arians said yesterday,”Penix tore his ACL in 2018 and 2020, and had shoulder injuries in 2019 and 2021. I think that says everything about the kid, how tough he is to overcome all that.” I guess we will need to stay tuned on how much influence Arians still has.
February 13th, 2024 at 4:51 am
100 million 3 years
February 13th, 2024 at 6:31 am
So he’s in the “bet against them in the playoffs” tier. Yep. Pretty much. As I’ve said, we won’t win a Super Bowl because of him. You need to pair him with an elite defense to win it all (checks roster…nope, defense is not elite). I wouldn’t want Dak either. Dudes a numbskull that blows games when he needs to step up. I guess Joe is willing to settle for a guy that can’t get us to the promise land. What fun.
February 13th, 2024 at 6:57 am
Why is anyone trying to save the Glazers money? They own two Football clubs worth 3.5 Billion each. The other is Manchester United
February 13th, 2024 at 6:58 am
Robbie, Wins and losses are not a QB stat.
February 13th, 2024 at 7:02 am
Above average in regular season. Elite in playoffs. Dak, Jackson, Hurts are elite in the regular season below average in playoffs.
February 13th, 2024 at 7:03 am
“The only thing Joe would quibble with here is Tua.”
Thats you. Theres a whole lot more to quibble about than Tua in that grouping.
S is solid and shows that super elite is a generational category witth very few members at any given time in the league. I think Aaron Rodgers is done and will never play a whole season again.
A shoudl have Stroud and an asterisk that a few in that group have yet to deliver on the big stage.
B all falls apart. In Purdy I see a player that has a team around him and needs it just like Baker.but sure didn’t look that special Sunday gone. Hurt showed no elevating of his game in the playoffs and seriously? the QB gets a total pass with one of the most dramatic downward turns of a team probably in NFL history? Stafford however does have a good edge over Baker
SO out of the 11 rated higher than Baker in this grouping system you would question Tua which puts him arguably top ten and I could easily question Purdy if he wasn’t on the the NIners with an elite running back and am in two minds about Hurt.
NoT bad for a so called Middling Qb and even worse for those of us that can count ( of which of those who comment are probably less than 50%)
C isnt average in this system – its near the top of the league.
Which is why Baker is swiftly becoming the face of the franchise.
February 13th, 2024 at 7:05 am
Brady owns most of the career non wins stats.
February 13th, 2024 at 7:09 am
Buccaneer Bonzai Says:
February 13th, 2024 at 1:05 am
“And Baker, man, I’m just happy he has a home.”
Nothing about his playing. Just happy he isn’t on the street? Not a great endorsement.
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sheesh way to show yor IQ there buddy
the entire rating/grouping system is about the Qbs play and to your chagrin it puts Baker in discussion as a top twelve Qb with serious questions about top ten.
February 13th, 2024 at 7:27 am
robbie Says:
February 13th, 2024 at 7:09 am
@Marky Mark
Click on my name
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Theres only been one person who argues like you do , hates Baker with such passion and constantly changes his name URL to get people to look at worthless stats and images
How you doing David? All these name changes must be running up the legal bill eh?
February 13th, 2024 at 7:36 am
Marky Mark … ‘Why is anyone trying to save the Glazers money?’
No one’s talking about Glazers’ money. Salary CAP has nothing to do with that. It’s the NFL’s strategy to level the playing field. And guess what … it’s working.
February 13th, 2024 at 7:37 am
David, all you can do to criticize him is harken back to his initial years in the league with crap franchises. What he is NOW represents the summation of his 6 years of NFL experience. What I see on the field NOW is pretty good
February 13th, 2024 at 8:25 am
Imagine thinking Baker is better than Tua. At least my weekly failure to remember this site is pointless comes with some good laughs 🤣🤣🤣🤣 the Joes just get more delusional every day
February 13th, 2024 at 8:28 am
Mayfield has elite receivers and a good defense. The team took him to the playoffs. Just look at the last 2 regular season games. That’s what your getting in clutch time from him. No thanks.
February 13th, 2024 at 8:28 am
Seems like a mostly fair ranking. Jackson gets too much love for a guy who chokes in the playoffs IMO, and Baker right now is where Stafford was with the Lions; good enough to get you to the playoffs but not to the Big Game. Time will tell now he has dysfunctional CLE and CAR in the rear view mirror. Also think Coen will get this team rolling better and quicker than Canales if they can return Baker and Mike
February 13th, 2024 at 8:50 am
Defense rules…. The Glazers can give him non monetary compensation such as Man U stock to skirt the salary cap rules the way Apple gave Messi stock and the MlS promised him an expansion club in Vegas after retirement ala David Beckham and Miami. Lebron owns a piece of the Red Sox and Liverpool FC but that was a side investment.
February 13th, 2024 at 8:51 am
That ranking system is pretty good. Russel Wilson’s placement is crazy but it is probably correct.
February 13th, 2024 at 8:51 am
Short, slow, and dumb. Not the makings of a Superbowl QB.
He was the QB during the sinkhole in the middle of the season.
And in the biggest game of the year he throws 2 interceptions.
We hover around 500 in the worst division in Football.
Remind me again of the greatness of Faker Mayfield????
February 13th, 2024 at 8:53 am
Canales believed the Tony Grossi trash talk from Cleveland and was afraid to let Baker go nuts with the ball until after the Texans game.
February 13th, 2024 at 9:01 am
robbie Says:
February 13th, 2024 at 7:37 am
Ah, Tony Marks again.
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again? thought you were knew “robbie” ?
Lol you can’t keep but outing yourself David. No matter how often you change your name.
February 13th, 2024 at 9:06 am
RiggedNFL Says:
February 13th, 2024 at 8:51 am
And in the biggest game of the year he throws 2 interceptions.
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One. The other one was on Butter Fingers Evans. Perfectly catchable ball right betweem both hands and he played volleyball with it.
Second with one time out under 2:00 minutes to go trying to not waste any plays and make something happwn as he had done before in the game . Bad throw but context matters.
February 13th, 2024 at 9:26 am
EVERY QB needs talent around him to succeed. It’s not just Baker. So give that BS a rest already!
February 13th, 2024 at 9:32 am
Heard the context that Baker like all NFL QB’s needs “the right pieces around him” to succeed. No kidding? Baker also like all NFL QB’s needs a defense that can get the ball back and give the offense more possessions. Too many times this year ,like in Cleveland, the defense allowed time consuming offensive drives that last 8 minutes. Hard to blame any QB who is turned into a spectator because the defense doesn’t get the offense the ball.
February 13th, 2024 at 9:43 am
Listen. Give this Guy three 3 in THIS HOME WITH THESE WEAPONs, a tweak here and a tweak their along the interior online and middle distance “pass defense (looking at you D. White, I sincerely hope you get bags upon bags of paper from a DIFFERENT organization. Fair thee well, but pls clean out your locker and turn in you facility key card at your EARLIEST convenience, its best that you find an org asap in order to start the relocation and settling process ASAP.)tha
With that being SAID, next year BALLERz WILL BE in the “tier” just below Mahomey, the year after that….well we’ll see id the arm talent was truly real (Im betting on it) and then maybe the Sky IS THE LIMIT. Heres to hope, faith, and optimism.
I really hope this works out enough to stun us all. I think its got a 50/50 chance, I really do. Get’e, Ballerz!!!!
February 13th, 2024 at 9:46 am
Too many idjuts. Maybe Trask is better than Baker at staring off into space. That would be it.
February 13th, 2024 at 10:32 am
Does anyone here truly believe that if Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes had been drafted by the Browns in 2018… they would have been in the Super Bowl by 2021?
There is NO SUCH THING as a “franchise QB”. Even Brady – he went from a great team, to a team that was ALMOST great – but he would not have taken the Bucs to the Super Bowl if the parts were not already there. His 8-9 season proved that.
ALL QBs are a product of their system. ALL.
February 13th, 2024 at 11:20 am
CleanHouse Says:
February 13th, 2024 at 12:39 am
Baker can be pretty good at times. An early INT on the potential game winning drive in the playoffs isn’t exactly Tom Bradyesque.
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No, but I suppose forgetting what down it was against Chicago (it was 4th) or throwing THREE second half INTs against Green Bay in the NFC Championship game was Brady-esque.
February 13th, 2024 at 11:43 am
Robbie: Your remarks are asinine (look it up) and you never fail to underwhelm. Therefore, Tony Marks must be correct in that you are really David.
How pathetic.
February 13th, 2024 at 2:02 pm
Robbie = Trask. Just stop. You ALL creditability to any comment when you lead with Trask outplayed Mayfield in training camp. The Carolina game is the proof. Staff played injured clearly limited Mayfield in the MUST WIN game rather than a healthy Trask.
February 13th, 2024 at 2:04 pm
Lanshark knows. Football is ultimate team game.
February 13th, 2024 at 2:19 pm
Wyoming Joe, that Robbie guy would have the Bucs at perennial 2-15 with his player talent evaluation if he was GM.
February 13th, 2024 at 2:55 pm
All these tier ratings are HEAVILY biased based on performance of the team, likely as it should be. IMO, there is no Tier S unless Allen is in there too. A and B should be combined with Tua and Purdy swapped for Dak and Mayfield from C. Lamar is likely the most talented of all and is a Tier S talent with Tier C performance in playoffs. I would think Lawrence is a Tier AB as well.
February 13th, 2024 at 6:27 pm
Why is anyone trying to save the Glazers money? They own two Football clubs worth 3.5 Billion each. The other is Manchester United
I don’t think the issue of money is trying to save the glazers bank. It’s working within the confines of the NFL rules regarding teams salary cap. That the structure to work within, not without
February 13th, 2024 at 10:16 pm
Scale 1-5 =3 this year will be different because he’s due a down year