Former Oklahoma Sooner superstar snubbed from Pro Bowl honor that he absolutely deserved
I have had my gripes over the Pro Bowl selection process, as oftentimes I find it's more of a popularity contest than a true measure of the quality of play. That belief deepened when I saw the nominations for this year's Pro Bowl. I had no particular issues with most of the names, a rarity […]
I have had my gripes over the Pro Bowl selection process, as oftentimes I find it's more of a popularity contest than a true measure of the quality of play.
That belief deepened when I saw the nominations for this year's Pro Bowl. I had no particular issues with most of the names, a rarity for me. However, there was one notable omission that I immediately fought back on:
Where in the world is Baker Mayfield?
I was genuinely surprised to not see Mayfield named as one of the first three. He was named an alternate in case one of the other three names that were nominated end up playing in the Super Bowl.
You can definitely make an argument in favor of any of Jayden Daniels, Jared Goff, or Sam Darnold to be in the Pro Bowl. Over Mayfield, though? Just doesn't pass muster.
Baker Mayfield finished third in the NFL in passing yards, behind just Joe Burrow and Goff. He's third in both passing AND total touchdowns, with 39 and 42, respectively, also behind Burrow and Lamar Jackson. Mayfield is also fourth in QB rating on the year. Only Lamar Jackson has a higher touchdown rate than Mayfield does this season.
He put up those kinds of numbers while missing both Mike Evans and Chris Godwin for significant chunks of the season. None of the other quarterbacks listed had as many injuries to their room as Mayfield had.
Even some of the advanced metrics back Mayfield's case up. He's seventh in EPA/Play and fifth in success rate. Mayfield boasts the second-lowest "Bad throw rate" in the NFL, a measure of inaccuracy or poor decision-making.
His catchable pass rate is third in the NFL at 88.7%, with his on-target percentage also remaining at the top in fifth place (tied with some guy named Patrick Mahomes, is he any good?).
What makes this even more impressive is that Mayfield isn't doing this on just cheap, easy throws either. These numbers still hold up even when you filter out any RPO and play-action attempts. Sure, he still has targets schemed up for him, but that argument falls flat when you look at the rest of the NFC nominees.
The Buccaneers have battled injuries to their offense and have one of the NFL's worst defenses. It's almost entirely Baker Mayfield making plays for the offense and dragging the team to a potential playoff spot. That is something none of the other candidates, save for perhaps Jayden Daniels, can say.
I rarely get passionate about these kinds of arguments, but this one feels wrong. Baker Mayfield deserved a Pro Bowl nomination in his career season. He has the production, he has the play, the metrics support him, and his playmaking on the field has been carrying the Buccaneers into a potential division title.
Oh yeah, he also beat both Goff and Daniels early on in the season.
I hope one of those quarterbacks goes the distance so Mayfield can get a well-deserved spot on the Pro Bowl roster.
