What It Means:

Rapoport says Mayfield's "understanding" of the offense and "command" in the Panthers' locker room have put the quarterback in position to start Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns. Sam Darnold could still theoretically steal the job away with a stellar preseason showing, but it looks like Mayfield's first start for Carolina will be against his former team. A healthy Mayfield should prove to be an upgrade for the Panthers' pass-catchers and Christian McCaffrey.

Baker is currently the QB27 in numberFire's preseason projections and our models project him for 3,914.2 passing yards, 23.03 touchdowns, and 15.6 interceptions this season, with 192.3 rushing yards and 1.51 touchdowns. Among the 44 quarterbacks with at least 100 drop backs last season, Baker ranked 33rd in Passing Net Expected Points per drop back (0.00) while Darnold ranked 38th (negative-0.10).