At this point in 2020, questions surrounded Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield after a bad season in 2019. While Freddie Kitchens could be blamed for a lot of the struggles, some wondered if the Browns brought in Case Keenum to compete with Mayfield. Cleveland tried to dispel that rumor but it lingered early last year.
Going into 2021, the questions surround Mayfield are, generally, only three:
- He is good, just how good can he be?
- When will he get paid?
- Just how big of a contract will it be when he gets paid?
A very good 2020 season, especially in the second half, has quelled all reasonable concerns about Mayfield as a franchise-level quarterback. While there will always be some level of doubt, the former Heisman Trophy winner has quieted the majority of it.
One way that he did so was by being consistently positive against all types of coverages:
I wrote about some quarterback superlatives for all of the main starting QBs for the AFC last year. Took a look at EPA vs certain coverages, who performed best under pressure, and who did the best in certain personnel packages.
Full Analysis: https://t.co/yQYfCNLX6n pic.twitter.com/uQXchRLMrj
— Arjun Menon (@arjunmenon100) August 17, 2021
As Anthony Reinhard noted, Mayfield is the only AFC quarterback to have an EPA per play better than league average against all seven coverage types.
Mayfield lacks some of the high-end numbers some of the best QBs in the league have, topping out at 0.37, but none of his numbers are in the red. With another year in Kevin Stefanski’s system, plus a healthy Odell Beckham Jr., it is possible we see Mayfield’s numbers climb across the board.
For now, this is just more data to affirm Mayfield’s rightful place at the table of franchise-level quarterbacks in the AFC.