If Bruce Arians is to be believed, then someone might want to break some pretty catastrophic news to the Carolina Panthers.
During his Arians Family Foundation gala this past Monday, the former Super Bowl-winning head coach and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers senior football consultant put forth a pretty interesting take. Known as a quarterback whisperer of sorts, Arians claimed that Baker Mayfield was a better prospect in his eyes than any of the top passers from the 2023 draft.
“I can honestly say out of these four, I had Baker rated higher,” per Scott Reynolds of Pewter Report. “That’s an honest opinion – coming out [of Oklahoma].”
Those four also include Houston’s C.J. Stroud, Indianapolis’ Anthony Richardson and, of course, the No. 1 pick in Carolina’s Bryce Young.
Mayfield was a first overall selection in his own right, going atop the board to the Cleveland Browns in 2018. And although things haven’t exactly worked out as planned for Baker in the NFL, Arians may think his best ball is ahead of him.
“That’s not chopped liver,” he added. “He had a tough time playing hurt and things didn’t work in Cleveland. That happens to a lot of guys. Timmy Couch was no bust. Timmy Couch got broken the hell up in Cleveland. I coached him. Helluva player.”
Unfortunately for Mayfield, he wasn’t much of a player for the Panthers in 2022—as he was waived after just seven (largely painstaking) games. He then landed with the Los Angeles Rams to close out a rough campaign and has since signed with Arians’ Bucs in free agency.
So, is Bruce really not a fan of Bryce in this case or is he just towing the company line? Well, that may depend on how you view chopped liver.
