Why does PFF grade Baker Mayfield higher than Lamar Jackson?

Somewhat surprisingly, Pro Football Focus gives Baker Mayfield a significantly higher grade than Lamar Jackson.

It may amuse Cleveland Browns fans to learn that Baker Mayfield gets higher grades from Pro Football Focus than Lamar Jackson. In fact, it’s not particularly close.

Pro Football Focus ranks Baker Mayfield as the eighth-best quarterback in the world, and Lamar Jackson is (cough, cough) 16th, meaning that he graded as an average NFL quarterback in 2020.

When this came out, our editor lined us all up and made all of us at Dawg Pound Daily swear under oath that we did not blackmail Pro Football Focus into downgrading Jackson. As far as anyone can determine, PFF has done this of their own accord.

Let’s not even rub it in that famed Browns hater Colin Cowherd‘s guy, Sam Darnold, has weighed in at 35th overall with a grade of 58.4. That’s ridiculous. With a grade that low, it’s surprising they did not make him walk-on at USC, frankly.

So how in the world can Baker Mayfield grade higher than Lamar Jackson? Almost no one outside of northeast Ohio would agree with the assessment, but both of these quarterbacks (as well as the third successful member of the quarterback class of 2018, Josh Allen) are true stars.

Nobody should question that they are the first-string quarterbacks of their respective teams and that they are going to get huge contracts now that it is renewal time. Everyone is curious to find out who is going to get what, and these things actually matter. Postseason awards and what others think translate to dollars at the negotiating table.

But before we argue about the results of the Pro Football Focus grading system, perhaps we ought to understand what it is, and what it is not. It does not necessarily mean that Baker Mayfield and Josh Allen are better athletes than Lamar Jackson or more valuable than Jackson.

The grading system doesn’t do that. Although this fan cannot speak for PFF, their grading system is explained (sort of) on their website. The idea is to evaluate each player’s success at carrying out each play as it was designed (or as the evaluators surmise that has been designed) in each game. It’s not intended to be a total evaluation system for all players.

Graders love to see a quarterback stay in the pocket, make his progressions, watch his head move as if it is on a swivel, and then hit the fourth option on the play by threading a bullet pass into a tight window for a seven-yard gain. Hello Baker! Hello Josh Allen! But what if your quarterback is Lamar Jackson, makes one read, sees everyone covered but sees an opening, and runs for seven yards?

That’s a classic bad play for rookie quarterbacks, but for Jackson, that might be a very sound decision. But how do you grade that? If the grader is expecting Jackson to do what other quarterbacks do, it would explain a few low grades despite his great on-field success.

Let’s think about this some more. Suppose Lamar Jackson keeps the ball and runs 40 yards for a brilliant touchdown for Baltimore. Meanwhile, over in Cleveland, Mayfield hands the ball off to Nick Chubb, and Chubb runs 40 yards for a touchdown.

Should we downgrade Mayfield’s performance, and if so, why? What’s wrong with giving the ball to Nick Chubb and scoring a touchdown? The result of the play is the same. You could make a case that Jackson’s feat requires more athleticism, and perhaps that is the type of play that gets Pro Bowl recognition, but in terms of grading the play, both plays are equally effective.

This is analogous to the silly discussion that used to surround Troy Aikman. Sports commentators used to debate whether he should be in the Hall of Fame because he didn’t throw enough touchdown passes. But he had Emmitt Smith on his team.

What was so bad about giving Emmitt Smith the ball near the goal line? Why does anyone feel the need to look down on Troy Aikman for giving the ball to Emmitt Smith? Game manager? Isn’t that what the quarterback is supposed to do? Why is that an insult?

So, if you want to insult Baker, call him a game manager. If you want to insult Lamar, call him a running back. But they both win.

Hence, it is understandable that Jackson’s style of play may be difficult to grade. The Pro Football Focus system is a useful tool, but it does not tell you is actually better. The grading tool does not replace your eyeballs or common sense.

So next, let’s talk about who the most accomplished quarterback is from the 2018 draft class. Sorry Colin Cowherd, it’s not your guy, Sam Darnold, though he will probably do better in Carolina than he did for the sorry Jets organization. Nor is it Josh Rosen, the brilliant kid who decided that he wanted to learn under Tom Brady, and then jumped the team before they won the Super Bowl.

It’s between Baker Mayfield, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Allen.