Baker Mayfield is AFC North’s best quarterback

Pro Football Focus names Baker Mayfield the division’s best quarterback

The Cleveland Browns got a good one in Baker Mayfield. Pro Football Focus has named the rookie the best quarterback in the division.

Baker Mayfield appeared in 14 games in 2018, starting 13 of them. Mayfield’s first action came in the Thursday Night Football victory over the New York Jets. Mayfield took over as the Browns starter for the remainder of the season after the comeback win.

Baker Mayfield completed 63.8 percent of his passes for 3,725 yards, 27 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Mayfield had three 4th quarter comebacks and four game-winning drives on the year.

Mayfield’s performance on the field changed drastically once the disastrous duo of Hue Jackson and Todd Haley were ousted. Once Freddie Kitchens got control of the offense, things changed for the better. Mayfield threw 19 touchdowns with Kitchens at the helm. Mayfield’s completion percentage rose ten points after the coaching change.

Pro Football Focus looked at Baker Mayfield’s season as a whole and still determined he was the best in the division

While Baker Mayfield’s rookie campaign can be broken into two distinct halves, Pro Football Focus determined his overall body of work is worth being graded as the best quarterback in the AFC North. Mayfield’s second half of the season is most likely the reason why his grade is as high as it is.

Pro Football Focus gave Baker Mayfield a grade of 84.5 which classifies as “Good” by their standards. PFF gives Mayfield a comfortable margin over second place Andy Dalton and a larger margin over Ben Roethlisberger. A 12.5 point margin exists between Mayfield and Joe Flacco. The largest margin is between Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson (26 points).

Although an analytical grade of Baker Mayfield is not needed to realize he is a good quarterback, it is alway encouraging that the analytics and eye test match. Typically in circumstances such as this, the general consensus is that both evaluations are accurate. It appears rather safe to say that the determination of Baker Mayfield being the best quarterback in the division is accurate.

Baker Mayfield performed at a level that very few are capable of. There are veteran quarterbacks who are unable to do what Mayfield did as a rookie. Baker Mayfield performs as one of the best quarterbacks in the league. His play led to being graded as the best signal caller in the AFC North.