Oklahoma Football: 5 reasons why the Sooners will stink in 2017

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NEW ORLEANS, LA – JANUARY 02: Dede Westbrook #11 of the Oklahoma Sooners is tackled by Stephen Roberts #14 of the Auburn Tigers during the Allstate Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 2, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

2. Lack of supporting cast for Baker Mayfield

Dede Westbrook was the go to target for Mayfield last season. Losing the more than 1,600 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns that Westbrook produced last season needs to be made up by three players. Those three players are senior receivers Jeff Badet and Jeffery Meade and tight end Mark Andrews.

There’s a good chance that Andrews is one of the breakout tight ends of the 2017 season. He could haul in more than 800 yards and 10 touchdowns by the end of the 2017 campaign. However, Meade and Badet seem to be players that could disappoint more than they pan out in 2017.

The running back picture is drastically different for the Sooners as well. Gone is the superstar combination of Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine. Sophomore running backs Abdul Adams and Rodney Anderson will carry the bulk of the load in the backfield. We’ll see how they fair behind a solid offensive line but with defenses used to facing Mixon and Perine.

The main criticisms of Mayfield are putting too much pressure on himself and making poor decisions consistently when flushed out of the pocket. Hopefully that does not build on him as the season goes along.

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