Does Baker Mayfield in Carolina Impact the Vikings?
K. Joudry
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After some speculation that the Vikings could possibly be interested in adding Baker Mayfield, the expected happened: Mayfield got traded to the Carolina Panthers.
The deal doesn’t have a direct impact on Minnesota. Carolina is in the conference, but they aren’t in the division and nor do they appear on the schedule. The fact that Carolina plays in the NFC South – a division that will likely be led by the Buccaneers and then Saints – does give us some reason to take notice. Their playoff path likely won’t involve a division championship but a wild card spot.
I don’t expect Carolina to get to the playoffs, but stranger things have happened. Take a look at their depth chart. By no means is Carolina a team devoid of talent. In fact, the D.J. Moore-Robbie Anderson-Christian McCaffrey trio is among the league’s more underrated groups. The key, of course, is McCaffrey’s health. When all three are on the field at once, defenses have reason to be concerned.
The defense, moreover, has some talent up front. Brian Burns is a disruptive edge rusher. Derrick Brown and Yetur Gross-Matos are also good players. There is a lot of youth in the secondary – such as C.J. Henderson and Jaycee Horn – and former Vikings safety Xavier Woods is one of their safeties. I’m not expecting dominance, but they have a few players.
Bringing it all together will be a healthy and motivated Baker Mayfield (someone who, if he has a strong year in 2022, could be an option for the Vikings in the future). It’s easy to forget that he had a really strong 2020 season. In fact, he led his Browns into the playoffs, snagging a win over the Steelers before going toe-to-toe with Kansas City. He finished the year as PFF‘s 8th-best passer with a 85.7 score. Forced to guess, I’d say his 2022 performance is closer to 2020 than it is 2021.
Baker Mayfield in Carolina isn’t a massive deal for the Vikings, but it’s plausible it could end up impacting Minnesota in the end. I don’t have a ton of confidence in their coaching staff, which is the main reason why I don’t see them as contenders in the NFC. Nevertheless, Mayfield isn’t as bad as he showed last season, and the Panthers offense does have legit skill. It’s possible the two teams will be competing for the same playoff spot(s) at the season gets toward the end.
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