Bruce Arians reckons Baker Mayfield was a better prospect than any of the 2023 NFL Draft quarterbacks.
Last week, Bryce Young was the No.1 pick and is now a member of the Carolina Panthers, while CJ Stroud was drafted second by the Houston Texans. Young emulated Mayfield, who was drafted No.1 overall by the Cleveland Browns in 2018.
Mayfield has struggled to make good on his initial promise, leaving Cleveland in 2021 and being signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this off-season after stints with the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams. However, during a conversation with the Pewter Report, Bruce Arians, a senior football consultant for the Buccaneers, claimed Mayfield was the superior athlete to the league’s newest stars and remains a better option .
“I can honestly say out of these four, I had Baker rated higher,” he said. “That’s an honest opinion – coming out [of Oklahoma].”
Back in March, Mayfield signed a one-year deal worth $4million (£3.18m) with the Buccaneers and joined Kyle Trask as the only two quarterbacks in the squad of the 2021 Super Bowl champions for the upcoming season.
"We've always, all of us in the front office and the coaches as well ... we've seen a fiery competitor, very confident, smart, he's got a very good arm," Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht said of Mayfield.
"He's had a lot of success. He took Cleveland to the playoffs for the [second] time since '94, when Coach [Bill] Belichick was coaching. That says something. We're excited to add him to the fray and it's going to be a great competition.”
He has a huge responsibility of filling the shoes of the iconic Tom Brady, who retired for the second time in February. But if he wants to extend his stay in Tampa beyond next season, he will have to battle Trask for the starting quarterback spot.
“Kyle (Trask) is just the Steady Eddie,” Licht said. “He works very hard. He’s very smart. Nothing seems to rattle Kyle. And that goes all the way back to his high school days waiting for his opportunity and then thriving when it comes up. So this is going to be a really, really, interesting competition all the way through training camp. Because it truly is going to be a competition. And I know that they’re both very excited to get this thing going.”
During an appearance on Sirius XM Radio, Licht sang the praises of the 28-year-old who has integrated himself well within his new team. “Baker’s been fantastic here getting adjusted to his teammates and the culture here,” Licht said. “Everybody, our staff, everybody downstairs has been really, really impressed with how he’s handled himself so far.”
In a chat with Sports Illustrated in April, Mayfield opened up about his decision to join the NFC South side. “I finally had some [time] to think, I think that’s the key word,” he explained. “And, yeah, just looking at it from a big-picture standpoint, I want to play this game for a long time.
“So where’s the next spot that’s going to be the most stable position, where I can come in and compete, and do the best I can to showcase what I’m capable of? This is a great opportunity to do so. Normally when a spot like this opens up, it’s because bad things have happened. But this one, it’s just because Tom [Brady] retired. So it’s a perfect opportunity for me.”
