If we go back in time to the offseason, we will hear all the doubters over whether or not Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield could replicate his Pro Bowl numbers from 2023.
Well, in 2024, Baker hit career highs in yards (4,500), touchdowns (41), completion percentage (71.4), yards per pass (7.9), and passer rating (106.8) en route to winning the NFC South and booking a spot in the postseason.
Yes, the Buccaneers fell to the Washington Commanders, but Mayfield played some of the best football of his career to give those doubters a big slice of humble pie.
Now we have more.
In a neat projection exercise, ESPN's Seth Walder has made a top 100 NFL MVP candidates list, and Baker comes in at No. 10.
"Mayfield elevated his play in 2024," Walder wrote. "Despite a high 2.5% turnover rate, his EPA per play numbers (assigning the entirety of team performance to him on dropbacks and designed carries) were fifth best in the league. QBR ranked him 13th overall after adding further context such as garbage time, quality of defenses faced and percentage of yards that came from YAC, which benefited Mayfield more than most quarterbacks."
While the playoff loss will sting, given Baker had a hand in both turnovers that eventually sunk Tampa Bay's ship, there can be no doubt that he's had a serious career resurgence with the Buccaneers.
That makes it all the more important for Tampa Bay to keep offensive coordinator Liam Coen, given that he is the mastermind behind Mayfield's best-ever statistical season as a pro.
There are many offseason decisions the Buccaneers have to make, but the biggest one might be how to keep Coen around to take full advantage of the investment they made in Baker.
