In the end, it’s the production that matters, so the Buccaneers don’t need to apologize for how they got there. We should celebrate how good some of the Bucs’ pass-catchers are at gaining yards after the catch, how well some of those passes were schemed up to create YAC opportunities and, on screen plays, where the Bucs’ excelled, how good the offensive linemen were at making blocks on the move. Tampa Bay was second only to Detroit in total YAC last year, with 3,830, and its YAC over expected of 498 yards was number one. If the Bucs were to do the exact same thing and get the same production in 2025, nobody would be complaining.
That said, Mayfield and company thinks they can be even more productive if they can take last year’s formula and add a little dash of actual downfield explosive plays. He mentioned that as one of the things the offense is working on this offseason and will continue to work on in training camp under the guidance of new Offensive Coordinator Josh Grizzard.
“We’re trying to get some more explosive [plays] in,” said Mayfield after minicamp practice on Tuesday. “Obviously, when you look at the stats – I’m not a big stats guy, but we weren’t as much down-the-field explosive. We were creating a lot of open, in the middle, and guys getting some YAC.”
He’s right. In addition to the air yards average noted above, the statistics also show that the Bucs only threw deep (20+ yards downfield in the air) on 7.5% of their passes last year, ranking 28th in the NFL. When they did throw it deep, their success rate was 32.6%, which was good for 21st in the league. The Bucs expected points added (EPA) per dropback on such passes was 0.19 for 20th in the league and their passer rating was 71.9 for 22nd. Mayfield threw five touchdown passes and four interceptions on deep throws.
The Bucs have since added wide receivers Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson in the draft, and they both are capable of producing big plays downfield. Moreover, the increased number of explosive targets in the offense will make it tougher for opposing defenses to focus on Mike Evans and Chris Godwin and try to take away their downfield opportunities. Evans in particular has demonstrated countless times in his career how good he is at winning one-on-one matchups on go balls when he gets the opportunity.
“[We’re] working on that, being able to connect on the chemistry we’re trying to build right now and just the timing of some of these routes – where the landmarks are and understanding that if it’s two-high [safety coverage], one-high [safety coverage], where we’re trying to throw the ball. This is the time of year we’re working on it. Obviously, you would love to have more down-the-field shots, but any completion is a good one.”