Baker Mayfield entered last season at the crossroads of his career. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were his fourth team in three seasons. He was unceremoniously exiled from Cleveland four years after being the first overall pick in the 2018 draft and had stops with the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams in 2022. When he showed up in Tampa Bay to replace Tom Brady it had all the looks of a placeholder quarterback on a one-year, prove-it deal with no guarantees.
What followed was a career year for Mayfield. He set personal highs for attempts (566), completions (364), completion percentage (64.3), passing yards (4,044), and touchdowns (28). He led the Buccaneers to a 5-1 record in their final six games to win the NFC South, and Mayfield became a made man in Tampa. That performance set him up to sign a three-year, $100 million deal that all but assures that he will be the quarterback for the next two years and more than likely all three.
Looking at his overall numbers last season, Mayfield gave fantasy managers much more than expected, finishing seventh in passing touchdowns and ninth in passing yards – overperforming his draft status (in leagues where he was drafted at all). His numbers really shouldn’t have come as a surprise, because he was surrounded by an extremely talented supporting cast.
