The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a strong season from quarterback Baker Mayfield.
The former No. 1 overall pick threw for 4,685 yards, 41 touchdowns and 16 interceptions for the Bucs in 2024. His efforts landed him the No. 6 spot in NFL.com writer Nick Shook’s quarterback rankings.
Baker among the best
“Mayfield’s 2023 renaissance earned him a new contract, but also queued up the doubters who believed he had little chance of replicating such success under a different offensive coordinator in 2024. Boy, were they wrong. Mayfield outdid himself this season, resetting his previous career-highs in passing yards, touchdowns and completion percentage,” Shook wrote.
“Those new marks look even more impressive when you consider he produced the bulk of his production without one or both of his top pass-catchers, with Chris Godwin sustaining a season-ending injury in Week 7 and Mike Evans missing three games, as well. In their absence, Mayfield kept Tampa competitive by successfully leaning on lesser-known names. Under his direction, the Bucs offense transformed into a team capable of exploding for 30-plus points in any given week, as they did three times over their final seven games (six wins). His performance proved Tampa was right to take a flier on him in 2023 and cemented his status as the franchise’s QB1.”
The only quarterbacks that ranked higher than Mayfield were Jayden Daniels, Jared Goff, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson.
The Bucs will continue to need Mayfield to perform at a high level if the team is going to make some noise in the NFC next season.
