Tag: Baker Mayfield

USA Today gives Tampa Bay a ‘B’ for Graham Barton pick

Tampa Bay gets a “B” grade for drafting Graham Barton.

The first round of the 2024 NFL Draft has come and gone, and here we are examining how each team that had a first-rounder did.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton with the 26th overall pick, and in many ways, that pick is a perfect blend of need and upside for the Bucs at that spot.

Barton began his Blue Devils career at center in 2020 and then started 34 games at left tackle over the last three seasons of his collegiate career. His positional flexibility was alluring to many teams, but his work at the center appeals most to the Buccaneers.

USA Today handed out grades for every single first-round pick last night, and here’s what they decided for Tampa Bay.

26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Graham Barton, C, Duke – Grade: B

In an offseason that could have been a disaster for the Buccaneers, Jason Licht found a way to keep everything together. His solid effort extends to the draft, as Tampa Bay addressed its shaky interior with Barton. A left tackle for the last three seasons at Duke, the 6-5, 313-pounder exhibits the strength, smarts and smooth movements to slide back to the pivot, where he started his career with the Blue Devils. He should help lead the charge for improving a run game that averaged a league-worst 3.4 yards per carry in 2023.

Giving Tampa Bay a “B” for their efforts feels reasonable. The Bucs were in a tough spot because if they traded down, there was a chance Barton would not have made it past the Dallas Cowboys, who also coveted Barton’s versatility.

With Barton in the fold, he will likely take over for 2023 starter Robert Hainsey. Barton posted the highest RAS of any center since 1987. His athleticism at center is unprecedented. Quarterback Baker Mayfield, who just signed a three-year, 100 million dollar deal, will be thrilled to have this level of protection and football IQ protecting him up the middle.

WATCH: Baker Mayfield narrates epic Tampa Bay Lightning playoff hype video

Check out this awesome hype video for the Tampa Bay Lightning’s latest playoff run, narrated by Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield

The Tampa Bay Lightning are back where they usually are, heading to the Stanley Cup Playoffs with hopes of lifting the legendary trophy for the fourth time in franchise history.

After winning back-to-back Stanley Cups, the Bolts fell just short two years ago, and were bounced from the first round last season. While many wonder if this is the end of their dynasty, the team has reloaded with hopes of proving the doubters wrong.

Somebody else that knows a thing or two about doing silencing the doubters? Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, who narrated this epic hype video for the Bolts’ upcoming playoff run:

Yeah, I’m gonna need a wall to run through.

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Can Jackson Arnold be the next great Oklahoma quarterback?

Being the quarterback at Oklahoma brings a lot of pressure and Jackson Arnold is ready to live up to the hype.

Being the starting quarterback at a blue-blood program brings a lot of pressure. Being the starting quarterback at a place like Oklahoma with all of its recent success is another animal all on its own.

That’s what [autotag]Jackson Arnold[/autotag] is stepping into. He’s following [autotag]Josh Heupel[/autotag], [autotag]Jason White[/autotag], [autotag]Sam Bradford[/autotag], [autotag]Landry Jones[/autotag], [autotag]Baker Mayfield[/autotag], [autotag]Kyler Murray[/autotag], [autotag]Jalen Hurts[/autotag] and [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag].

That doesn’t even include the guys pre-2000 or even guys like [autotag]Spencer Rattler[/autotag] and [autotag]Caleb Williams[/autotag]who were extremely talented but finished their careers elsewhere.

Arnold spoke about how much that played into his decision to come to Oklahoma.

“It definitely impacted my decision,” Arnold said. “Just knowing the caliber of QBs that came before me and just knowing that I wanted to be a part of that group really stood out to me. Being in the lineage of Heisman winners is obviously something I want to join and follow those footsteps. This is the place that I wanted to be.”

The thing for Arnold is for him not to try to be too much like them and let that pressure get to him. Instead, he just needs to be himself. That’s what earned him five-star status. It’s why the expectations are so high for Arnold.

He’s got all the talent in the world to be a successful college quarterback. But so much of what goes into playing the position goes beyond the scouting report or the box score. But early in his career, Jackson Arnold has shown he’s capable of overcoming adversity. He’s made up of the right stuff. 2024 is the season we see Arnold have a breakout year.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

Oklahoma Sooners ranked as a top 5 college football program of all-time by Sports Illustrated

The Sooners are considered apart of the elite in college football. So much so they are ranked in the top 5 according to Sports Illustrated.

The Oklahoma Sooners have long been thought to be among the elite in college football. Where they rank exactly depends on who you ask, but nonetheless, they are a true “blue blood” of the sport.

Sports Illustrated created a list of the top 10 college football programs of all-time, and the Sooners came in at No. 3.

OU is also 1st all-time with 7 Heisman Trophy winners in addition to a record 50 conference championships, while posting the 3rd most weeks in the AP poll (898), and 4th most NFL Draft selections (414), and is 5th in win percentage and 6th in all-time wins and All-Americans. – James Parks

But even still, Oklahoma has been great historically. They’ve only had one down decade since the 1950s. Outside of that, they’ve been a team near the top just about every single season.
That doesn’t mean they aren’t susceptible to a bad season, but overall, they are a model of consistency within the sport. Now, we’ll see if they can get back to the top of the mountain.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

Geno Smith comments on competing with backup QB Sam Howell

Even though there’s technically no QB battle, Geno Smith knows he’s competing with Sam Howell and vice versa.

Technically there won’t be a quarterback competition for the Seahawks this summer, as there supposedly was in 2022 when Geno Smith and Drew Lock had a very quick and one-sided battle to decide who should start for Seattle. Regardless of how much projected backup Sam Howell improves this offseason, Smith is still by far the team’s best option to start in Week 1.

However, the nature of what Smith does for a living means he can’t ever stop competing. Every week, every day he has to prove himself not only against opponents but teammates and potential draft picks and free agents. Smith understands that as well as anyone, telling the media yesterday that he’s got everything to prove. Geno also knows he’s competing with Sam and vice versa.

While Smith is still the guy for now we can’t totally write off Howell replacing him as QB1 some day down the line. After all, Howell is 10 years younger than Smith and still has plenty of time to develop into something special if that’s in the stars for him.

Coming out of the 2022 draft class, our best and worse-case comp for Howell was Baker Mayfield, who’s had a rollercoaster of a career. Last season the Buccaneers got the best out of him to the tune of over 4,000 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a 94.6 passer rating. Assuming that the two-high safety trend isn’t going anywhere, those are numbers you can definitely live with and make the playoffs with in the modern NFL. There’s also a distinct chance that Howell’s ceiling is higher than Mayfield’s turned out to be.

No matter how this year plays out with Geno Smith, fans should probably expect Howell to compete with another young quarterback – likely a 2024 or 2025 draft pick to start the season after next.

More Seahawks Wire stories

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Should the Bucs pick a QB in the 2024 NFL draft?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers might want to invest in a long-term backup plan at quarterback with a late-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have the same exact quarterback room for the 2024 season that they had last year, bringing valuable continuity to the game’s most important position.

But should they start planning for the future?

Baker Mayfield is back on a new three-year contract extension, securing the starting spot for the foreseeable future. Kyle Trask is heading into the final year of his rookie contract, while veteran John Wolford is back on a one-year deal as the third-stringer.

Trask, a second-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft, has barely touched the field, and hasn’t shown the Bucs anything that would warrant a contract extension after the 2024 season. Wolford is a fantastic veteran presence to have in the room, especially considering his knowledge of the offense from his time with Liam Coen when both were with the Los Angeles Rams.

Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

If the Bucs want to replace Trask with a long-term project, they could find a late-round pick to fill that role, and this year’s draft class should give them some intriguing options.

Tennessee’s Joe Milton III would be an ideal candidate, thanks to his impressive physical tools that give him tons of upside. He still needs some refinement, which will require patience at the next level, but investing a Day 3 pick into his lofty potential wouldn’t be the worst idea for the Bucs.

Mayfield will be the starter for at least the next couple of years, but if Tampa Bay wants a long-term backup plan beyond Trask and Wolford, Milton could be a strong fit.

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Sam Howell vows to play ‘smarter football’ if he gets another chance

Here’s what he said about what he needs to improve on last week on ESPN radio Seattle:

The Seahawks got a talented young quarterback in Sam Howell, who has plus arm power and guts to go for it at any given moment. Howell shares those traits with the player he will be replacing on Seattle’s roster, taking over for Drew Lock as Geno Smith’s primary backup.

General manager John Schneider says he loves the way that Howell plays. However, there are also some flaws in his game. Like many big-armed young QBs Howell has had issues with ball security. Last season he threw 21 interceptions to go with his 21 touchdowns. He also took far too many sacks, leading the league with 65 in 2023.

If Howell gets another chance to start, he says that he’s going to play smarter. Here’s what he said about what he needs to improve on last week on ESPN radio Seattle:

“The interceptions, I’ve just got to do a better job… There were some times where we were down in some games and I was just trying to be a little aggressive and at times maybe just tried to do a little too much, trying to give us a chance. But I’ve got to be smarter, got to play smarter football, got to play winning football. And at times I was doing it, so just doing it at a more consistent rate. And I feel confident about my ability to do that. It’s just a matter of if I get an opportunity, I’ve got to go out there and show it.”

Another quarterback who had issues with trying to do too much early in his career is Geno Smith, who proved that with patience teams can develop late-blooming stars who might have been written off thanks to those problems early in their careers.

The best comp for Howell is Baker Mayfield. Ever erratic, his career has been up and down since going No. 1 overall but the Buccaneers got the best version of him last year. If the Seahawks think they can engineer a similar growth in Howell it might be worth seeing what he can do.

More Seahawks Wire stories

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Seahawks fans react to ‘rumor’ Tyler Lockett may be expendable

21 biggest cap hits for the Seahawks in 2024 after free agency

Skip Bayless: I would take Baker Mayfield over Dak Prescott

Fox Sports’ Skip Bayless says he’d rather have Baker Mayfield than Dak Prescott as the Dallas Cowboys’ starting quarterback

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took a gamble at quarterback last year, signing former No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield to a cheap one-year deal to compete with recent second-round pick Kyle Trask for the starting job.

Mayfield won that job easily, and proceeded to have the best season of his NFL career, earning a Pro Bowl berth and leading the Bucs to a third straight NFC South title and fourth consecutive playoff appearance. He put up better numbers and led the Bucs to more wins than Tom Brady in Tampa Bay the prior year.

The Bucs rewarded Mayfield with a new three-year contract extension and a massive raise, but he’s still one of the more affordable quality starters in the league.

In fact, Fox Sports talking head and die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan Skip Bayless recently said he’d rather have Mayfield at quarterback than Dak Prescott:

Prescott has put up impressive numbers throughout his tenure in Dallas, but has fallen short of postseason expectations, and heads into a contract year in 2024 without a new extension on the horizon.

It looks like the Cowboys might be looking for a new starting quarterback before the Bucs will.

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Who will be the next Baker Mayfield?

A handful of quarterbacks from the first round of the 2021 NFL draft could be primed for a Baker Mayfield bounce-back in 2024

Baker Mayfield’s football journey has been well documented, from college walk-on to Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, to being released and bouncing between three teams in two years.

The most recent chapter in that story was a return to greatness, as Mayfield enjoyed the best season of his NFL career last year after signing a cheap one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

There are multiple quarterbacks from the 2021 NFL draft class who could be primed for a similar bounce-back after experienced the same kind of rocky start to their respective NFL careers, and Rich Eisen recently discussed which of them could make that kind of comeback with a new team:

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