It’s been a fascinating climb for Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield over the last two seasons from obscurity to a hot commodity in the NFL. The Bucs were bargain hunting when they signed him back in 2023, but by the end of the 2024 season going into 2025, the acquisition of Baker Mayfield seems like a steal on the same level of the Lufthansa Heist. Mayfield has lived after up to the billing of the $100 million the Bucs are paying him after the signing a three-year deal last offseason.

This isn’t just because Mayfield has played well and Tampa Bay has overall been successful, he has been playing at an elite level and completely elevated his game from 2023 to 2024. Mayfield’s 4,500 passing yards were second in the league behind Joe Burrow and his 41 touchdown passes were tied for second with Lamar Jackson, also trailing Burrow again but just by two. Mayfield and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow were the only quarterbacks on the season to throw for at least 4,500 yards and 40 touchdowns.

Baker Mayfield Gets A Great Ranking

When it comes to the conversation of who are the best quarterbacks and who had the best season, it always comes back to the likes of Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, Buffalo’s Josh Allen, Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow and a few others. Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts deserves to be in there as well after winning the Super Bowl and the Super Bowl MVP honors.

But Baker Mayfield hasn’t been forgotten either. On NFL.com, Nick Shook did an end-of-year quarterback rankings and Mayfield wound up at No. 6 on the list, the same as his jersey number. Here’s what he said about it.

“Mayfield’s 2023 renaissance earned him a new contract, but also queued up the doubters who believed he had little chance of replicating such success under a different offensive coordinator in 2024. Boy, were they wrong. Mayfield outdid himself this season, resetting his previous career-highs in passing yards, touchdowns and completion percentage. Those new marks look even more impressive when you consider he produced the bulk of his production without one or both of his top pass-catchers, with Chris Godwin sustaining a season-ending injury in Week 7 and Mike Evans missing three games, as well.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

“In their absence, Mayfield kept Tampa competitive by successfully leaning on lesser-known names. Under his direction, the Bucs offense transformed into a team capable of exploding for 30-plus points in any given week, as they did three times over their final seven games (six wins). His performance proved Tampa was right to take a flier on him in 2023 and cemented his status as the franchise’s QB1.”

Ahead of Baker Mayfield from one to five were Jackson, Allen, Burrow, Lions quarterback Jared Goff and Commanders rookie QB Jayden Daniels. The one right after Mayfield at No. 7 was Mahomes, followed by Rams QB Matthew Stafford, Hurts and Packers signal caller Jordan Love to round out the top 10.

It is important to identify that these based specifically around the play of this regular season and postseason. If someone was starting a team and could draft any quarterback in the league, Mahomes likely goes first, but based on the season, it’s a fair spot.

Since Daniels beat Mayfield and the Bucs in the postseason and made it to the NFC Championship Game, it’s also fair to put him in the top five. Where I would push back on the top 10 rankings is with Hurts at nine. It’s completely understandable to argue that the Eagles were all about running the ball with All-Pro Saquon Barkley, who had a fantastic, record-breaking season. But in the Super Bowl, Barkley was slowed down by the Chiefs and Hurts took over with his passing and running, also winning Super Bowl MVP honors. It’s hard to to say that he barely cracks the top 10 with that performance.

What’s The Ceiling For Baker Mayfield?

Bucs RT Luke Goedeke and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Jeffrey Jones/PR

What would that mean for Baker Mayfield? Maybe he moves back a spot or two, but regardless, the fact that Mayfield is in the conversation with everybody else mentioned and it’s not coming from just Tampa media is a great sign.

We wondered how much Mayfield could get better in 2024 and the answer was a lot. There aren’t any questions going into 2025 about whether or not he can get improve, because he’s already established that he can.

Plenty of things are still on the horizon for Baker Mayfield. Maybe he gets further into the MVP conversation and gets voted into the Pro Bowl instead of being an alternate. But most importantly, he has never had a better chance of winning a Super Bowl like he does at the moment going into next season.