It is rankings season. As the 2021 NFL season draws closer and training camps are underway around the league, player evaluations commence. Specifically, the signal-caller.
For every team, the quarterback is not only the face of the franchise and the highest-paid player on the roster, but the man under center holds the esteemed leadership role on the squad. The value of a quarterback is pivotal and, more often than not, determines a franchise’s future success.
Heading into the 2021 season, PFF graded all 32 starting quarterbacks based on tenure production and the effectiveness of each quarterback’s supporting cast for a more accurate, comprehensive projection. Former Oklahoma Sooner Baker Mayfield landed at No. 10 on the list.
Give Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski a ton of credit for how he helped set up his quarterback for success. The Browns protected Mayfield early in the season, but when Stefanski opened up the playbook, Baker excelled. He was the second-highest-graded quarterback in the league from Week 7 through the playoffs. He also ranked in the top five from a clean pocket, on standard dropbacks and on early downs for the entire season — all of which are important and stable metrics. Considering the offensive weapons Mayfield has around him and his offensive line’s league-leading 84.4 pass-blocking grade last year, expect him to pick up where he left off for the 2021 season.
After a two-decade drought, Baker Mayfield led the Cleveland Browns to 11-regular season wins and an appearance in the divisional round of playoffs.
Mayfield produced some of the greatest plays of his career last November and December and will be striving to build off that momentum this year.
Kevin Stefanski trusted his QB1 more and more down the stretch with Mayfield’s improved accuracy and poise in the pocket. With the team’s talented dual backfield of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, the running game sets up Stefanski’s play-action game. This allows his offense to excel at multiple levels, opening up vertical shots downfield, the screen game, and short passing attack.
With an outstanding offensive line and a plethora of weapons in the Browns’ receiving corps featuring Jarvis Landry, Odell Beckham Jr., Donovan Peoples-Jones, and Rashard Higgins, this team is in contention for another stellar year. Expectations are higher for Mayfield and the Browns entering the 2021 season, but No. 6 is poised for a jump in Year 4 for the Dawgs.