Baker Mayfield has a new piece of bulletin-board material heading into the 2026 season, and it came from an unexpected place.
ESPN left the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback off its list of the top 100 NFL players entering the season, even though 16 quarterbacks made the cut. That omission stands out immediately when you look at what Mayfield has done since 2023.
Over that stretch, Mayfield ranks third in the NFL with 12,237 passing yards and second with 95 touchdown passes. He has rebuilt his career in Tampa Bay and put himself in position for another big contract. Somehow, that still wasn’t enough to earn a spot in the top 100.
The snub is even harder to square when you consider one NFL personnel evaluator told ESPN that Mayfield is a top-10 quarterback when healthy and expected a big season from him. Another evaluator said he did not believe Mayfield was healthy last year, which likely explains some of the dip in how he was viewed.
There was also a curious quarterback cluster near the back end of the rankings. Sam Darnold came in at No.
100, Jalen Hurts landed at No. 97 after falling 59 spots from the previous year, and Trevor Lawrence checked in at No. 96 after setting a Jaguars record with 38 total touchdowns and finishing fifth in MVP voting. Mayfield trailed all of them by not appearing at all.
Mayfield also reportedly passed on a two-year extension worth more than $100 million because he is looking for more long-term security. Another strong season would only improve his leverage and make this omission look worse in hindsight.
That gives him plenty to play for in 2026. A healthy Mayfield has the experience and the supporting cast to keep Tampa Bay dangerous, and now he has a national ranking to file away as extra motivation.
These lists don’t mean much once the games start. Mayfield gets 17 chances to make ESPN’s call look flat-out wrong.
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