Somebody needs to take a shot on Baker Mayfield, right? Here are his best three potential landing spots after the 2022 NFL Draft.
Baker Mayfield wasn’t traded during the 2022 NFL Draft, but he did get himself a statue at Oklahoma recently as one of the team’s Heisman Trophy winners.
Perhaps a trip back to Oklahoma and being reminded of what got him drafted first overall in the first place back in 2018 will be exactly what Baker Mayfield needs to really shift his perspective.
The Cleveland Browns made a blockbuster deal this offseason for quarterback Deshaun Watson, and given how non-committal the team has been towards Mayfield, the decision to pursue Watson in a borderline (maybe not even borderline) desperate way made some level of sense.
There were some rumors heating up during the Draft that Mayfield could be headed to Carolina. Then, apparently, those talks hit a snag and the Panthers traded up in round three to acquire Matt Corral out of Ole Miss.
Does that trade take the Panthers out of the running? Which teams make the most sense for Mayfield now that the draft is over?
Baker Mayfield post-Draft spot no. 3: Carolina Panthers
I do think the chances of Baker Mayfield landing with the Carolina Panthers have diminished pretty significantly since no deal got done during the 2022 NFL Draft.
The Panthers have Sam Darnold and now Matt Corral both under contract for 2022, or at least soon to be under contract.
Given the fact that Carolina spent a 2023 third-round pick to get Corral, how much sense would it make for them to part with more draft capital to get Mayfield?
What kind of pick or picks are the Browns actually hoping to get in return?
I think the Browns could get better picks for Mayfield if they would agree to eat a bunch of his salary, and that might be exactly what winds up happening. I don’t see how they could actually take Mayfield with them into training camp still on the roster.
Carolina would be getting an upgrade over Darnold by trading for Mayfield, and maybe that’s why this still makes sense.
Unless Matt Corral is starting this year, the Panthers have arguably the worst starting QB situation in the league as of right now, along with their division rivals in Atlanta.
Baker Mayfield post-Draft spot no. 2: Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks went into the 2022 NFL Draft with quarterback questions and came out of the Draft looking like they were about ready to fully commit to Drew Lock for the 2022 season.
They rebuilt the offensive line and added some playmakers to the offense to help the quarterback, be that Lock or someone else.
The only other “someone else” that makes sense as of right now is Baker Mayfield.
Right?
Pete Carroll talked about how Geno Smith is the most up-to-speed quarterback he has on the roster at the moment but is he really going to go into an actual season with Smith as his QB1?
The same could be said regarding Lock, but if you make a trade for Mayfield, does that give people the impression that you didn’t get everything you could for Russell Wilson in the blockbuster deal from early March?
All of these things are factors but the Seahawks need to determine what their ultimate goal is. If the long game they are playing is to find a QB in the loaded 2023 NFL Draft class, then trading for Baker Mayfield is a pointless use of resources when you can already throw a dart at Drew Lock this season.
If Seattle wants to compete this year and they are not overly interested in taking a rookie QB high in next year’s draft, then why haven’t they traded for Mayfield yet?
There are so many intriguing weapons in Seattle right now with DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett at receiver, D’Wayne Eskridge coming into his second season, Will Dissly getting a new deal, and then Noah Fant obviously coming over as arguably the centerpiece (player-wise) of the Russell Wilson trade.
Now with Kenneth Walker joining Rashaad Penny in the backfield, a revamped offensive line with Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas as the highly drafted young bookends at tackle, it could make a lot of sense to throw someone like Mayfield into a situation like this.
He could really thrive in Seattle, it all depends on how much Seattle actually wants it to happen.
Baker Mayfield post-Draft spot no. 1: Houston Texans
Could the Houston Texans come out of left field to trade for Baker Mayfield?
I think we could see it.
General manager Nick Caserio has been more aggressive in the 2022 offseason than I think many expected. One move, in particular, that makes me think he might be willing to make a deal involving Mayfield was the recent re-signing of Brandin Cooks.
Of course, the Texans are like any NFL team — they want to keep good players around. But for a rebuilding team, handing a bunch of money to Cooks, who was not a free agent, was a unique type of move.
The Texans obviously want him around for someone, in particular.
I think it’s reasonable to assume that Houston genuinely likes 2021 third-round pick Davis Mills, but it’s also reasonable to think that Houston could be competitive in the AFC South with a quarterback like Baker Mayfield under center.
Pep Hamilton has done such a tremendous job developing young quarterbacks in recent years, so perhaps the Texans would look at their situation as a good one for Mayfield as well.
Not only do they have Cooks, but they also have 2021 third-round pick Nico Collins ready to step into a bigger role, and they just aggressively moved up for Alabama wide receiver John Metchie III.
Again, Houston has been more aggressive this offseason than I think people expected, and as a result, I wouldn’t be shocked to see them make a deal for Mayfield especially given Caserio’s roots in New England.
The Patriots have always been a team that took calculated risks on players especially when the price is right. If Houston could get Mayfield for a reasonable draft pick and with the Texans taking on some of his contract, I could see a return to his home state of Texas being the most likely scenario for Baker Mayfield in 2022.