Ranking NFC South QBs: Where does Panthers’ Baker Mayfield fit in?
Just seven years ago, the NFC South was the crème de la crème when it came to quarterbacks.
The Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints had themselves quality veteran passers, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had that year’s first overall pick and the Carolina Panthers, of course, had the league’s Most Valuable Player.
But now, it’s just one really, really good old dude and a bunch of borderline backups masquerading as starters. So, like any self-respecting publication would, let’s rank ’em!
Here, with a new name recently entering the chat, are our rankings of the division’s top six quarterbacks.
Sam Darnold (Carolina Panthers)
AP Photo/Nell Redmond
2021 stats (12 games): 59.9 completion percentage, 2,527 yards, nine touchdowns, 13 interceptions
Not only is Darnold lucky that he currently resides in this watered-down division, but he’s also benefitting from the fact that this list goes six deep.
Heading into his fifth pro campaign, the former No. 3 overall pick has yet to prove he’s worth, well, exactly that. Darnold has tossed up the second-most interceptions since entering the league and has not been able to get past the same fundamental issues that’ve hampered him since day one.
Andy Dalton (New Orleans Saints)
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
2021 stats (8 games): 63.1 completion percentage, 1,515 yards, eight touchdowns, nine interceptions
Is the “Red Rocket” really better than Carolina’s crashed Jet? Probably.
Regardless, it’s really a fool’s errand (like much of this entire exercise already is) to argue between Dalton and Darnold. At least the former has three Pro Bowl selections—pretty much a shrug of an honor these days, but still much more than the latter has accomplished thus far.
Marcus Mariota (Atlanta Falcons)
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
2021 stats (10 games): 50.0 completion percentage, 4 yards, zero touchdowns, zero interceptions
The early favorite to start under center for Atlanta, the former No. 2 overall pick will now emerge from the shadow of Derek Carr in an attempt to revive his career. And it wasn’t exactly a cold shadow for Mariota, as he found a bit of comfort zone in that backup role for the Las Vegas Raiders over the past two years.
His last season of at least 10 starts, which came in 2019 with the Tennessee Titans, resulted in 2,528 passing yards over 11 scores and eight picks with a nearly nice completion clip of 68.9 percent. So we’ll see if he’s ready to keep the reins away from rookie Desmond Ridder and prove he’s worth a longer look again.
Jameis Winston (New Orleans Saints)
AP Photo/Nell Redmond
2021 stats (7 games): 59.0 completion percentage, 1,170 yards, 14 touchdowns, three interceptions
From 2015’s second selection to its first, Winston is also still trying to prove he can hang. And before sustaining his devastating season-ending knee in 2021, he was on track to achieve exactly that.
The Saints honed Winston in a bit last year, limiting that gunslinging type of style we saw in Tampa Bay and cutting down on his backbreaking turnovers in the process. With no clear challenger to his job in sight, he’ll get a chance to finish what he started.
Baker Mayfield (Carolina Panthers)
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
2021 stats (14 games): 60.5 completion percentage, 3,010 yards, 17 touchdowns, 13 interceptions
You get traded for the football equivalent of a Mega Millions lottery ticket and you automatically become the second-best quarterback in your new division. Welcome to the NFC South, Mr. Mayfield!
The Panthers’ third attempt at a reclamation project in as many years, the former No. 1 overall selection now heads to Charlotte as the projected starter—inevitably taking over for Darnold and allowing 2022 third-round pick Matt Corral to find his footing. And despite his last team tossing him away like a used napkin, Mayfield has been solid—even promising, at times—and could benefit from a good set of weapons and a revamped offensive line.
Tom Brady (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
AP Photo/Rusty Jones
2021 stats (17 games): 67.5 completion percentage, 5,316 yards, 43 touchdowns, 12 interceptions
Resistance is futile, and so is time when it comes to this guy.
Brady, obviously, sits unbothered atop this region. Like, look at those numbers again! A 44-year-old human (if he even is one) did that.
But just imagine if he actually stayed retired and the Buccaneers failed to make a big move to replace him. Similarly to Matt Rhule standing as the NFC South’s longest-tenured head coach, Baker Reagan Mayfield could’ve been the best quarterback this division had to offer.
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