Is Baker Mayfield Better Than Any QB In 2023 NFL Draft?
Will the Bucs draft a new quarterback this year? That was the question prior to the 2023 NFL Draft.
Some NFL mock drafts had Tampa Bay selecting Kentucky’s Will Levis, Florida’s Anthony Richardson or Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker in the first round.
But the Bucs already have a new quarterback this year in veteran Baker Mayfield.
According to former Tampa Bay head coach and Bucs Ring of Honor member Bruce Arians, Mayfield is better than any of the quarterbacks that are in this year’s NFL Draft. And that includes Alabama’s Bryce Young, who was drafted No. 1 overall by Carolina, and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, who was widely regarded as the second-best quarterback in the 2023 NFL Draft and went to Houston at No. 2.
“I can honestly say out of these four, I had Baker rated higher,” Arians said on Monday at his Arians Family Foundation gala. “That’s an honest opinion – coming out [of Oklahoma].”
Mayfield, who won the Heisman Trophy with the Sooners went No. 1 overall to Cleveland in 2018.
“That’s not chopped liver,” Arians said. “He had a tough time playing hurt and things didn’t work in Cleveland. That happens to a lot of guys. Timmy Couch was no bust. Timmy Couch got broken the hell up in Cleveland. I coached him. Helluva player.”
