Baker Mayfield Trade Reaction - 2022 NFL Fantasy Football

Dec 14, 2020; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) throws a pass during the second quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

DFS Army’s Gthom breaks down the Baker Mayfield trade for fantasy football.

On Wednesday, the Cleveland Browns finally relinquished the former first-overall draft pick, Baker Mayfield. The new Panthers quarterback was traded to Carolina in exchange for a fifth-round pick (which may become a fourth-round pick depending on how Mayfield performs).

Mayfield and Cleveland’s relationship reached a public boiling point once the Browns actively shopped for Deshaun Watson. Clearly Mayfield knew the franchise was not all-in on him and Mayfield immediately requested a trade. In an interview with ESPN, Mayfield stated “The relationship [with the Browns] is too far gone to mend. It’s in the best interest of both sides to move on.”

*”too far gone.” Not fine, gone.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 17, 2022

Cleveland featured many ups and downs for Mayfield. At times it looked like Cleveland found their franchise quarterback. On the contrary, Mayfield did not look good on paper. While he guided the Browns to their first playoff victory since 1995, Mayfield never threw for 30 touchdowns or 4,000 yards in a single-season. He featured QBR’s of 51.2, 54.4, 65.5 and 35.1, respectively.

The biggest thing to worry about with the Baker Mayfield trade is that his head coach, Matt Rhule, is on the hot seat. Rhule will deploy everything to save his job if it comes down to it. If Mayfield struggles to win games it may open the door for rookie quarterback Matt Corral, and fast.

The Panthers traded up to get Corral in the third-round. With the Panthers, that means both the coaching staff and the organization wanted him. Corral provides an interesting element to Rhule’s tenure too: if Corral succeeds, that alone could be enough to save Rhule’s job for one more season. Mayfield’s job does not seem to be as secure as it appears today.

The Fantasy Outlook in Carolina

While a change of scenery could reignite the talents of Mayfield, it will likely be more of the same for his fantasy production. Carolina does possess talented skill players but those weapons are on-par with what Mayfield had in Cleveland. It is well documented that Mayfield has never supported a fantasy-WR1 during his NFL tenure; Cleveland was a run-first offense, though.

Mayfield is a redraft winner in this deal because he will open the season as the presumed starter for Carolina. For dynasty purposes you should have concerns due to Mayfield’s pending free agency in 2023 and a potential coaching change in Carolina.

D.J. Moore is the only player that becomes more interesting from Carolina. Talent oozes from Moore, but he has not displayed those talents the way fantasy managers would like. Namely, how elusive touchdowns have been for the former first-round pick. Moore has yet to score more than four touchdowns in a single-season. My ranking on Moore stays put at WR20.

Here is a great tweet from Josh Lefko that captures Moore’s fantasy outlook.

https://twitter.com/JLefkoNFL/status/1544775185693392899

From there it leaves Robby Anderson (ADP – WR76), Terrace Marshall Jr. (ADP – WR95), and Tommy Tremble (ADP – TE47). Anderson will get consideration in deeper leagues and best ball, but he should be considered a dart-throw. All other receivers should be ignored for fantasy at this point in the drafting season.

Finally, CMC stays CMC. If anything the Baker Mayfield trade will help his fantasy profile.

MORE FANTASY FOOTBALL ANALYSIS FROM GTHOM