Baker Mayfield claimed the top spot on ESPN analyst Bill Connelly’s ranking of the 100 best quarterbacks from the 2000s, according to ESPN.
The former Oklahoma quarterback finished ahead of Heisman winners and national champions across two decades of college football.
Connelly wrote that while Cam Newton, Vince Young and Joe Burrow produced some of the best single seasons, Mayfield delivered the most complete body of work over his career.
Mayfield completed 69% of his passes for 14,607 yards with 131 touchdowns and 30 interceptions.
He added 1,083 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns in Lincoln Riley’s spread offense. The mobility made him tough to defend throughout his college career.
His path to the top made the recognition even more significant. Mayfield walked on at Texas Tech in 2013 and won the starting job as a freshman.
He threw for 413 yards in his debut but lost the role due to injury. After transferring to Oklahoma, he walked on again and rebuilt his career from scratch.
The Sooners hadn’t won an outright conference title since 2010 when Mayfield arrived. He led them to three straight Big 12 championships and two College Football Playoff appearances.
His 2017 Heisman Trophy season capped the run. Mayfield accounted for 4,938 total yards and 48 touchdowns while leading Oklahoma within one play of the national title game.
He’s the only walk-on in college football history to win the Heisman Trophy.
NFL teams overlooked questions about his size. The Cleveland Browns selected Mayfield with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft, and he’s thrown for nearly 30,000 yards in six NFL seasons.
Oklahoma placed multiple quarterbacks on Connelly’s list. Kyler Murray ranked seventh after his 2018 season, while Sam Bradford came in at No. 16 following his record-setting 2008 campaign.
Jalen Hurts landed at No. 29, Jason White at No. 39 and Landry Jones at No. 46.
Connelly made it clear that no quarterback from the 2000s combined longevity, production and program impact quite like Mayfield did during his time in Norman.
