Baker Mayfield Thrives on Proving Critics Wrong originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Entering his third season as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ starting quarterback, Baker Mayfield’s NFL career has come full circle. As quickly as his NFL stardom took off — being the first overall draft pick in 2018 and then setting a rookie record with 27 touchdown passes — his Cleveland Browns tenure was done after four seasons, and he was little more than a reclamation project when he signed with the Bucs in 2023 to compete for the starting job vacated by the retiring Tom Brady.
Sure enough, Mayfield was named the starter, passed for a career-high 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns and the Bucs won their third straight NFL South title.
Then highly touted offensive coordinator Dave Canales left Tampa to become the Carolina Panthers head coach, and experts predicted Mayfield would take a step back.
Nope.
Under new offensive coordinator Liam Coen, Mayfield continued to shine. His 4,500 passing yards in 2024 were third in the NFL and his 41 TD passes were tied for second. Tampa Bay won its fourth straight division title.
This season, the Bucs have yet another new offensive coordinator, as Coen became head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Josh Grizzard, who was the passing game coordinator for the Bucs last season, takes over. And if you want to say Mayfield might take a step back, he’s probably just fine with that.
It seems Mayfield thrives on people doubting him.
“Baker Mayfield doesn’t have a chip on his shoulder. It’s more like a boulder,” a rival scout told Athlon Sports. “The way Mayfield uses slights, real or perceived, fuels him in a unique way. How Mayfield has turned around his career in Tampa Bay is a testament to his perseverance and how the Buccaneers have utilized him.”
Those comments were made as part of the exclusive Buccaneers scouting report in the Athlon Sports 2025 NFL Preview magazine, available online and at newsstands now.
The Bucs averaged 29.5 points per game last season, fourth in the league. It doesn’t hurt that every offensive starter is back, including Mayfield’s favorite downfield targets.
“This is an outstanding receiving corps,” the scout said. “Mike Evans is a future Hall of Fame selection. … Chris Godwin makes a ton of plays and is very hard to cover.”
The team actually added a new weapon to the arsenal when they used a first-round draft pick this spring to select Emeka Egbuka of Ohio State.
“Emeka Egbuka is an unusually polished rookie receiver,” the scout said.
In other words, expect Mayfield to continue posting those fantasy-friendly numbers.
Related: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2025 NFL Season Preview
Related: Athlon Sports 2025 NFL Preview Magazine Now Available
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 10, 2025, where it first appeared.