QB Stock Market Week 2: Is Baker Mayfield actually good?

chonprasit

National Football League

Updated Sep. 10, 2024 3:38 p.m. ET

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Henry McKenna

NFL Reporter

At 1 p.m. ET this past Sunday, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Did anyone else?

Finally: football.

By then, we’d already seen two games. Both were terrific. Still, there’s something special when the first NFL Sunday hits. It’s blissful.

And it took only a few minutes for chaos to ensue, which instantly had me thinking about what to do with all these signal-callers for this exercise. I had more fun than I should have watching Anthony Richardson and C.J. Stroud — who were both electric. But I had the same amount of fun watching Joe Burrow as I did Jacoby Brissett — who were both duds.

As Week 1s tend to go, there was some weirdly off-putting and delightfully surprising football. Let’s look at how that changed what we thought we knew about these quarterbacks.

And remember, one question is at the fore of this exercise: What have you done for your team lately?

Note: Last week’s ranking is in parentheses.

1. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills (↑1)

We’ve spent the offseason wondering what the Buffalo Bills would look like without Stefon Diggs.

The offense looks a lot like Josh Allen. And that’s because the offense is Josh Allen.

He scored four total touchdowns Sunday, with two in the air and two on the ground. His strong performance didn’t come without a turnover — he fumbled in the first quarter, which is a part of why the Bills fell into a 14-point hole. But during the comeback, he completed passes to nine different pass-catchers.

Last year, the Bills were overly reliant on Diggs. It made them one-dimensional. But with Allen at quarterback, they should be multiple. They should be unpredictable. I’m certain there will be growing pains, but Allen delivers epic moments.

Exhibit A: He hurdled and posterized Cardinals safety Budda Baker on the Bills’ final touchdown.

2. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs (↓1)

3. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers (↑3)

4. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens (↓1)

5. C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans (↑4)

6. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins (↑4)

7. Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (↑13)

OK, speaking of taking over a game. Let’s go, Baker.

I wasn’t sure how he’d cope with the departure of former offensive coordinator and current Panthers coach David Canales. Mike Evans always seems like he’s on the verge of showing his age. Chris Godwin has been banged up. Generally, I wasn’t sure if I could buy in on Baker. But, dangit, he put himself right at the top of this list by putting a whooping on the Commanders.

It wasn’t just about beating up on a suspect defense. I loved Baker’s ball placement on his touchdowns to Mike Evans — both sneaky, pinpoint passes where only Evans could get it. I loved Baker’s elusiveness in the pocket, bouncing off defenders and avoiding losses. And then, and maybe best of all, I liked seeing Baker keeping his eyes downfield after avoiding pass-rushers and, in some cases, completing passes out of structure.

8. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys (↔)

9. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams (↑4)

10. Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles (↓3)

11. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers (↔)

12. Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts (↑11)

There was so much to like from this young playmaker. In Week 1, Richardson reminded me of 2019 Josh Allen, who knew how to ball — but not exactly how to quarterback.

That’s why I’m going to take the plunge here on Richardson. There’s a little voice in my head that’s doubting the decision to move Richardson up. And here’s where the skepticism lies: 1) His two deep misses to Adonai Mitchell were egregious and, given the score, game altering. 2) It was a divisional game and those can be mirages of production.

But Richardson orchestrated two touchdown drives at the end of the game. The Colts nearly upset the Texans. Houston is supposed to be a top challenger to the Chiefs in the AFC. And Richardson nearly decleated them. Indy can’t take this as a moral victory, because I think those are toxic and insane. But *whispers* it was kind of a moral victory, right?

13. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals (↑4)

14. Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets (↓9)

15. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals (↓11)

I looked it up and “Week 1” is not Joe Burrow’s middle name. (It’s Lee.)

For whatever reason, Burrow performs at his worst in Week 1. Every year.

The Patriots’ defense has been this good for years. But I’ll admit that I was skeptical that they’d maintain their standard of performance beyond Bill Belichick. Jerod Mayo showed me up. But more importantly, he showed Burrow up.

Burrow was entirely unable to attack downfield, his 164 passing yards representing the fourth-fewest of his career in games that he finished. The passing offense looked entirely incoherent.

And that made sense, given what happened leading up to Week 1. Ja’Marr Chase has been engaged in a hold-in and basically hasn’t practiced this season. Tee Higgins was inactive (hamstring). Tyler Boyd is a Titan.

From 1-10, my worry for Burrow and the Bengals is at a six. Let’s give them a minute to get Higgins healthy, wash this taste out of their mouth and — most important — just freaking give Chase his money.

16. Sam Darnold, Minnesota Vikings (↑9)

17. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions (↔)

18. Derek Carr, New Orleans Saints (↑9)

19. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers (↓7)

20. Justin Fields, Pittsburgh Steelers (new)

Behind the Steelers’ brutal offensive line, Fields managed to keep the plane from crashing.

If you didn’t see Russell Wilson take three sacks on 13 dropbacks in the preseason, then let me tell you — this offense had “disaster” written all over it.

It’s impressive that Fields steered this dysfunctional offense to a W. Yes, he threw for only 156 yards while rushing for 57. But he didn’t commit a turnover and only took two sacks.

Fields stayed out of the way, so his defense could get a win. Sometimes, that’s enough.

This is why I wrote weeks ago that Fields deserved to start. Even if he’s not the team’s long-term solution, he’s creative and athletic enough to overcome the issues on the offensive line. If/when Wilson returns to QB1 in Pittsburgh, it’s probably going to result in a six-sack game. It’s just the wrong place for him to revitalize his career. It’s Fields’ time.

21. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars (↓6)

22. Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks (↓1)

23. Jacoby Brissett, New England Patriots (↑5)

24. Gardner Minshew, Las Vegas Raiders (↑8)

25. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders (↓7)

26. Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons (↓4)

27. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears (↓13)

I’m looking back on what I wrote about Caleb Williams last week, and where I ranked him, and I’m thinking about Billy Madison.

“Mr. Madison, what you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.”

Williams’ NFL debut was atrocious.

I will not be taking questions at this time.

28. Daniel Jones, New York Giants (↓2)

29. Will Levis, Tennessee Titans (↓5)

30. Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers (↓1)

31. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos (↓1)

32. Deshaun Watson, Cleveland Browns (↓13)

For so many reasons, Watson’s not fit to be the face of an NFL franchise. Because of his contract, the Browns can’t get rid of him. (If they were to cut Watson today, they would owe $126.8 million on their cap in 2025 and $46 million in 2026. There’s no early out here.)

But they can bench him. And it’s abundantly clear they should.

Watson flopped for the first half against the Cowboys, and when the game was entirely out of reach, the Browns quarterback began to pad his stats. Even with the garbage-time production, Watson finished with 169 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He averaged 3.8 yards per attempt. And he took six sacks.

I said it earlier this week, I’ll say it again: jettison this man into football irrelevance.

Henry McKenna is an NFL reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.

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