We’ve seen Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield ranked amongst his peers at quarterback by several different outlets and people on a national landscape. Everybody wants to discuss who the best quarterbacks are and understandably so. But what don’t typically see is a five time first team All-Pro and arguably the most publicized wide receiver in the league mention Baker Mayfield as one of the best in the league.

On a recent instagram live, Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill listed his top five quarterbacks currently in the NFL. Hill has a case to be made as the best wide receiver in football, so when he answers something like this, the whole football landscape is interested in hearing about it.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield Makes Hill’s Top 5

Making his top five are his former teammate from the Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes, his current teammate Tua Tagovailoa, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott of the Cowboys and then the Pro Bowl MVP and starting quarterback of the Bucs, Baker Mayfield.

Choosing Mahomes and Jackson were obvious selections and taking his own quarterback in Tagovailoa makes sense even though many he likely hovers around 10 in other projections. Prescott and the Cowboys are polarizing figures, but Prescott is in the upper tier of quarterbacks. Across the board, though, Mayfield has been listed anywhere between 15 and 20 with the other quarterbacks in the league.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

It’s great to see what Baker Mayfield did last season. But top five? Not so much. Noticeably absent from this list in no particular order are Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff. All would have a much better claim to legitimately being in the top five than Mayfield, but at the end of the day it’s Hill’s opinion. Hill is coming off of a season where he led the league with 1,799 receiving yards and was tied for the league at 13 receiving touchdowns with Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans. So, Hill knows a thing or two about passers.

It should be important to point out that Hill was rapidly answering questions and put on the spot with this list, so take that with a grain of salt for how serious he is about it. There wasn’t much time to do a deep dive about all the quarterbacks in the league so it may have just been in the heat of the moment when coming up with an answer.

Bucs And Hill Have History

Bucs FS Antoine Winfield, Jr. and Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs do have some history with Hill going back to his playing days with the Chiefs. In that infamous 2020 season, Hill torched Tampa Bay for one of the best games of his career going for 13 catches, 269 yards and three touchdowns in a 27-24 win in Week 12. On one of Hill’s touchdowns, he gave his famous peace sign before even reaching the end zone as he was so far separated from the defense.

Tampa Bay would get their revenge against him in SuperLV as the Bucs eviscerated the Chiefs 31-9 to become world champions. He had a solid game in that one making seven catches for 73 yards, but the Bucs kept him and Kansas City out of the end zone, making Hill and factor and limiting the Chiefs to three field goals. A popular moment in the game happened late when safety Antoine Winfield Jr. helped break up a pass against Hill and did the peace sign to him after the play.

Hill was traded to the Dolphins for the 2022 season as he pursued a new contract. He has not faced the Bucs since besides a joint training camp practice in Tampa Bay that same year where he matched up against current Bucs Jamel Dean and Zyon McCollum. Tampa Bay and Miami will have another joint training camp practice this year in the preseason, but we still haven’t seen another matchup in the regular season.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield and RG Cody Mauch – Photo by: USA Today

Can Baker Mayfield Move Up?

Another solid season from Baker Mayfield could see him move up the quarterback rankings. Many eye balls will be on the Buc this season as people question whether he can do it again. Consistency has been big with Mayfield over the years and he’ll benefit from having more chemistry with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Rachaad White while Tampa Bay also brought in more weapons through the draft. 

If Baker Mayfield can top his numbers of 4,044 passing yards and 28 touchdowns, it would be difficult to boost him among the rankings based on how the Bucs finish their season. He has the contract that shows Tampa Bay believes in him. Mayfield just has to prove it again for yet another season.