Baker Mayfield, the former Heisman Trophy winner and two‑time Pro Bowler, has turned his off‑season focus toward fantasy football, offering a counter‑intuitive take on draft strategy.
The Supply‑Demand Logic Behind the Advice
In a recent interview, Mayfield explained that the sheer depth of productive quarterbacks makes it unwise to invest a top‑round pick on a signal‑caller, urging owners to prioritize running backs or receivers instead.
He framed the recommendation with a simple economic principle: when supply outpaces demand, value drops, and the market for elite quarterbacks is saturated.
The argument gains weight when you consider the 2025 season, where 14 of the top‑25 per‑game scorers were quarterbacks, yet the gap between the very best and the rest was razor‑thin.
Mayfield pointed out that even a superstar like Josh Allen was barely more valuable than Patrick Mahomes last year, and he himself finished just under two points per game behind Bo Nix in a down season.
Because of those tiers, running backs and receivers dominate the early rounds, creating distinct production cliffs that savvy managers can exploit.
Fantasy analysts now list Mayfield as QB16 for the upcoming campaign, but his own advice is to defer selecting him until later rounds, especially in standard leagues.
The takeaway is clear: in a landscape crowded with capable quarterbacks, the smart play is to chase the scarcity at the top of the board.