Baker Mayfield’s 2025 season featured some impressive moments, but the mistakes that piled up throughout the year appear to have hurt his standing among the NFL’s starting quarterbacks.
PFF’s Dalton Wasserman and Max Chadwick ranked Mayfield No. 18 among starting quarterbacks entering the 2026 season. Their evaluation pointed directly to the extreme swings in his play, as Mayfield finished last season with 28 big-time throws and 28 turnover-worthy plays.
The latter figure led the NFL, according to PFF, and became particularly problematic as Tampa Bay’s season began to unravel. Wasserman and Chadwick also highlighted how much Mayfield’s production declined after Mike Evans suffered a broken collarbone in Week 7.
From Weeks 7 through 18, Mayfield earned a 56.2 PFF passing grade while throwing 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Evans returned in Week 15, but Tampa Bay never completely recovered from its midseason struggles and ultimately missed the postseason for the first time since 2019.
Mayfield did find another way to keep the offense moving. His 6.9 yards per carry as a scrambler led the league, giving Tampa Bay an additional element when things weren’t working through the air.
Now comes another adjustment. Evans is no longer in Tampa Bay, meaning Mayfield will enter a season without the longtime Bucs receiver for the first time since joining the franchise.
The No. 18 ranking puts Mayfield in the bottom half of PFF’s starting quarterback list, but 2026 gives him an opportunity to change that perception. Cutting down on the turnover-worthy plays while adjusting to life without Evans will be a major part of proving last season’s second-half decline isn’t the new normal.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: PFF ranks Baker Mayfield among other starting quarterbacks
Reporting by Mason Riney, Buccaneers Wire / Bucs Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Mason Riney, Buccaneers Wire | USA TODAY Network
