‘Hideous’ Baker Mayfield receives lowly spot in FanSided’s QB rankings

Carolina Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield received a lowly spot in FanSided’s weekly power rankings after a poor start to the 2022 campaign. 

Despite the Carolina Panthers securing their first victory since Week 10 of 2021 last weekend, there remain some serious problems with Baker Mayfield and his transition into a new offense. The quarterback was inconsistent at best against the New Orleans Saints, with his numbers saved in one swoop when a short completion to Laviska Shenault Jr. resulted in a sensational 67-yard touchdown.

Big things were expected from Mayfield following his trade from the Cleveland Browns. Things haven’t gone quite according to plan as yet, but there is a lot of football left and another week of practice should familiarise the No. 1 overall selection in 2018 further with his teammates and what’s expected within the system.

Mayfield’s stats tell their own story. He’s completed just 51.9 percent of his passes for 550 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. His passer rating is 87.5 and an 18.8 QBR out of a possible 100.

The hard work must intensify for Mayfield in the weeks ahead. But one cannot look at the early signs with anything other the pessimism until the player proves otherwise.

Baker Mayfield is at No. 29 in FanSided’s QB power rankings

Unsurprisingly after such an inconsistent start, Mayfield didn’t receive much love from FanSided‘s Matt Verderame in his weekly quarterback power rankings. The signal-caller currently sits at No. 29 on the list, with only Joe Flacco, Justin Fields, and Mitchell Trubisky below him in the standings.

Verderame described Mayfield’s opening three games with the Panthers as “hideous”. The writer also highlighted his league-low QBR as further proof of how much work the player has ahead.

"“(Baker) Mayfield has been hideous to start his career in Carolina. Very few explosive plays, no accuracy, and the worst QBR of any starter in the NFL.”"

This is not going to shock anybody. Mayfield freely admitted he needs to brush up on certain aspects of his play, but the Panthers will want things trending on an upward curve quickly with two winnable home games upcoming on the schedule.

If Mayfield cannot produce the goods and is the reason Carolina fails to generate any real momentum, then it becomes more complicated when Sam Darnold comes back from injury. While the USC product’s form in 2021 left a lot to be desired, Matt Rhule still believes in his abilities and might install him into the lineup in the hope he can provide the spark.

The ball is still in Mayfield’s court, for now. This is also a scheme issue and Ben McAdoo needs to come up with better solutions to get the most out of his quarterback and the talented weapons in the passing game.

It’s still early in the process and Mayfield did arrive late this summer. Those excuses won’t matter in the grand scheme of things, so the Heisman Trophy winner must show character and take it upon himself to silence some increasing doubters.

If he can do that, then he’ll be flying up Verderame’s rankings in no time.