Why does PFF grade Baker Mayfield higher than Lamar Jackson?

Further discussion of PFF grades for Mayfield, Jackson

Sharp-eyed fans may observe that Mayfield’s grade is reported at 85.7 in the tweet from Pro Football Focus linked on the first page of this article, as well as other parts of the PFF website, but in other places Mayfield’s grade pops up as 81.6. So why the difference? The 81.6 number is almost certainly his lifetime grade, mistakenly reported as his 2020 grade.

Mayfield’s lifetime grade includes his rookie year plus his terrible year with Freddie Kitchens, which is naturally a few points lower than his 2020 grade, which was by far his best season. Certainly, reducing his interception total to eight was a welcome sign of improvement after tossing 14 in 2018 and 21 in 2019.

Hence his ranking of 85.7 as the eighth-best quarterback in the world is a reasonable grade given the progress he made from the debacle of 2019.

Jackson’s grade is given as 79.3 in the PFF tweet, but elsewhere in the PFF website is reported as 81.5. The 81.5 number is Jackson’s regular season grade, and the 79.3 is the grade for the entire season including two playoff games. This is a bit confusing, but this is not an error.

Pro Football Focus’s internal stats confirm that the numbers in the PFF tweet are self-consistent. For the 2020 season, Josh Allen is indeed graded seventh overall (90.9), Mayfield eighth (85.7), and Jackson 16th (79.3).

However, for reasons described in the previous two pages, the grading system probably does not give adequate justice to Jackson’s overall football contribution. He could very easily be paid more than Mayfield when long-term contracts are finally in place. Good luck with trying to negotiate a multi-megabuck contract without a professional agent, however.  That could lead to some major dysfunction.

In this fan’s opinion, Josh Allen was the most accomplished quarterback in 2020. He made the Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro, and led his team to the AFC Finals, winning two playoff games in the process. Allen also grades significantly higher by PFF also, though as explained numerous times by now, that grade is not decisive in determining who is the better player or who deserves the bigger paycheck.  Nevertheless, his stats and the playoff position of the Bills should result in Allen obtaining a deal close to Patrick Mahomes.

Lamar Jackson, by virtue of being a former league MVP, probably deserves to edge Mayfield for the second-highest quarterback salary of the 2018 quarterback class, but not having an agent makes a deal for Jackson very problematic.  Mayfield’s deal should put him close to the top five in the NFL, or around the Aaron Rodgers level.