Can Baker Mayfield Elevate An Injured Receiver Core?
Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Last week, I was sitting in front of the television watching the highly-anticipated Monday Night Football game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Baltimore Ravens. My eyes were glued to the screen as I keyed in on Mike Evans, hoping he could play through the hamstring issue that limited him in practice.
Then on a 2nd & 7 at the Ravens 24-yard line, with Tampa Bay only down by a field goal, Evans beat cornerback Brandon Stephens in one-on-one coverage with a chance to score a touchdown. Baker Mayfield saw that Evans beat his man and launched the ball toward his favorite red zone target. Evans ran at full speed as he tracked the ball mid-air, hoping to reel it in at the back of the end zone. As Evans laid out for the ball, Stephens wrapped up his legs which ended up aggravating the star receiver’s nagging hamstring injury.
Mike Evans appeared to reaggravate the hamstring injury he was already playing with. He was able to walk off the field to the locker room. pic.twitter.com/ZnViE0C2r4
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 22, 2024
As Evans hobbled his way towards the locker room, I turned off the game, and headed to my local 24-hour Whataburger to get some work done. I was typing away when suddenly I got a notification. It read: “Evans and Godwin both hurt in the same game?”
“Excuse me?!?!” I blurted out loud. As it turns out, Chris Godwin suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the waning seconds of a game that was firmly in garbage time. A game where they already lost Evans to a hamstring injury. It’s a devastating blow to a Bucs team that is trying to keep pace with the Atlanta Falcons in the race for the NFC South. Godwin and Evans are the only two star-level skill position players in Tampa’s offense. Without his top receivers, Mayfield will need to elevate the remaining talent around him for the Buccaneers to succeed, but is he capable of doing that?
A couple of years ago, a user on Reddit asked what the general consensus on Baker Mayfield is. The three most upvoted comments were “Too good for a tanking team, too much of a risk for a ‘win-now’ team.” followed by “Uncanny QB valley”, and finally, “Dalton Line of average quarterbacks.”. If Baker is being compared to Andy Dalton, then people clearly see him as someone who cannot elevate an offense without an abundance of high-level talent; but does that viewpoint still hold true in 2024?
The great Stefon Diggs once said: “There is truth to all rumors”, and I do think that there is at least some truth to the pre-existing narratives that surround Mayfield. He spent the early part of his career with the Cleveland Browns and managed to bring some stability at quarterback for an organization that is infamous for failing to identify and develop young quarterbacks. Despite being the exception to the rule in Cleveland, they shipped him out to the Carolina Panthers after five seasons. If the Browns didn’t even think Baker was good enough, then why should anyone else think otherwise?
Here’s the thing: Mayfield has matured since his Cleveland days. His stint with the Panthers gave him a new perspective on football as a journeyman quarterback struggling to find that long-term stability he once had with the Browns. While his time with the Los Angeles Rams gave him his first experience of what it’s like to be a part of a winning organization. Those experiences helped shape Mayfield into the player he is today.
Baker Mayfield is no longer the young and cocky quarterback who was drafted with the first overall pick. These days, Baker has a quieter confidence about him. He plays a lot smarter and less recklessly, but he still has some of that moxie and bravado that makes him stand out. Being with the Bucs and regaining the stability he once had really has allowed Baker to come into his own, and this team has embraced his personality.
Playing without Evans and Godwin is going to make life a lot more difficult for Baker Mayfield. There’s simply no way around that. However, I do believe that Mayfield has the necessary intangibles to be able to make the most out of a worsening situation and is capable of elevating the Buccaneers offense. Even without his two star receivers.
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