Anyone who watched the Cleveland Browns and Baker Mayfield carefully over the last two seasons knows the dropoff from 2018 to 2019 was very real for the precocious quarterback. Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar found one glaring area where Mayfield really struggled in his second season.
From Farrar’s research, Mayfield had the NFL’s worst QB Rating in 2019 when not facing any pressure on his throws.
“When he wasn’t harassed, Mayfield still threw a league-high 16 interceptions on 394 attempts, and a league-worst 84.0 quarterback rating.”
There are obviously mitigating circumstances around the numbers. He almost never practiced with his starting WRs due to their injuries, and four of those 16 interceptions came on passes where the ball hit the receiver in both hands before a defender made a play. But the falloff from Baker’s outstanding rookie season was stark when not facing pressure.
Mayfield’s numbers without pressure in 2018, provided by Farrar via Sorts Info Solutions:
236 completions in 352 attempts for 2,745 yards, 1,404 air yards, 18 touchdowns, and eight interceptions, 98.0 passer rating without pressure.
There’s still room for improvement beyond those figures too, but the regression to dead last in the NFL was not an expected development for Mayfield. In Kevin Stefanski’s offense — Mayfield’s fourth system in as many years going back to college — he should fare better without pressure. Mayfield cannot be a bottom-feeder in this category again.
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