Baker Mayfield: Latest quarterback ranking reveals alarming trend

Greg Rosenthal of NFL.com ranked every quarterback to start in 2021 and Cleveland Browns starter Baker Mayfield continues to be consistently inconsistent

2021 was a campaign to forget for Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns. A Week 2 shoulder injury wound up derailing his season and that, of course, led to the Browns missing the playoffs and failing to post their first back-to-back winning seasons since returning to the NFL.

Of course, there are those who think the injury was the only thing that slowed Mayfield down this season, and naturally, there are those who think it only exacerbated an already glaring issue — which was Mayfield’s struggles with accuracy and decision-making.

Whatever the real cause, Mayfield has never had a lower stock than he does right now and this was seen in a recent NFL.com quarterback power ranking done by Greg Rosenthal. In ranking all 62 quarterbacks to start a game in 2021, Rosenthal has Mayfield at No. 25 which is just one spot ahead of Tyler Huntley, a reserve quarterback who started as a rookie for the Baltimore Ravens.

"“Mayfield’s year-end rankings reflect a career that has ping-ponged between incredible promise and sub-mediocre play. Mayfield hasn’t proven he can lift his surroundings, and he couldn’t compensate for his limitations in his fourth season, which were often mental as well as physical. Unlike, say, Kirk Cousins or Ryan Tannehill, it’s hard to say which Mayfield will show up in a given week or season. It’s tough to build a team around a player like that.” — Rosenthal, NFL.com"

Cleveland fans have recently been comparing Mayfield to players such as Drew Brees — who had a slow start to his career — and Peyton Manning since he broke his rookie touchdown record in 2018. However, Rosenthal has Mayfield ranked closer to Daniel Jones (No. 24) and Taylor Heinicke (No. 27) who are either going to be replaced or on their last chance than he does to anyone who remotely resembles Brees or Manning.

Still, that’s not the most alarming part. Instead, what should concern fans in Northeast Ohio is how the four-year trend for Mayfield has identical highs and lows according to these rankings.

Baker Mayfield: Consistently inconsistent

One thing that really stands out in Rosenthal’s ranking is that Baker Mayfield has been easily the most consistently inconsistent quarterback in the NFL. In even years, he has been a beast. According to Rosenthal, Mayfield was the 12th ranked QB in 2018 and the 11th in 2020. But in 2019, he was No. 24, and this past season (2021) he was 25th.

Again, it’s tempting for defenders of his to point to excuses for his shortcomings including Freddie Kitchens being the coach in 2019 and the injuries this season, but this is no longer a fluke. It’s a four-year roller-coaster with one incredible dip after another.

As Rosenthal said in his piece, it’s hard to build a team around a player who has such highs and lows since you never know who is going to show up.

This presents another huge dilemma for the front office. They say the plan is to give Mayfield another year but if the trend remains true, 2022 is going to be a good year where he’s ranked in the top-12. They then need to decide if they want to pay him as his contract is up following the season — and according to the trajectory of his career thus far, 2023 could be another rough season.

All of this is surely being discussed by the Cleveland front office which has a huge decision on their hands with Mayfield. And unlike those who only want to count the good times, they have to weigh in the rough seasons as well.