For better or for worse, Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield has had various supporting casts throughout his NFL career. That has included a variety of head coaches and offensive coordinators, to various star players and offensive talent.
Heading into 2024, Mayfield is bullish on how the Tampa Bay offense looks primed and ready to go, and there is a newfound sense of stability that has eluded him in years past. After diving deeper to compare his supporting casts throughout his NFL career in part one of this breakdown, let’s take a glass-half-full approach in part two and analyze how each offensive position group around him can be even better this season and allow him to play at his best.
Rachaad White Primed For More Efficient 2024, Bucky Irving Will Help
What aided Baker Mayfield the most during his best season with the Browns in 2020 was having a lethal duo at running back in Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. With those two in the backfield, it made Mayfield’s life a lot easier under center. Here is how they fared that season:
Nick Chubb: 190 carries, 1,067 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns, 16 receptions, 150 receiving yards
Kareem Hunt: 198 carries, 841 rushing yards, six touchdowns, 38 receptions, 304 receiving yards, five touchdowns
Do the math in between them, and you would find that they combined for 396 carries for 1,908 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground. That would be near historic output in a single season out of any NFL running back, and that’s not to mention the 54 receptions, 454 receiving yards, and five touchdowns they provided as passing options for Mayfield.
While that is a lot to expect out of a 1-2 punch, the Bucs hope they have found their own productive duo at running back in Rachaad White and Bucky Irving.
Heading into his third season, White is looking to establish himself fully after flashing plenty of promise across his first two seasons in the league. That progress has been muddied with inconsistency and inefficiency, which he hopes to clean up heading into 2024. He had an extensive workload in 2023, with 272 carries for 990 rushing yards in addition to 64 receptions for 549 receiving yards. While that led to him providing plenty of offense, he also rushed for 3.6 yards per carry for a rushing offense that was ranked last in the league for the second year in a row.
Bucs Rb Rachaad White
As White mentioned earlier this offseason, his main goal is to be more efficient with his touches.
“That’s the biggest thing right now – I’ve been learning and trying to figure it out,” White said back in April on how he has looked to improve heading into this season. “Right now, I’m not where I want to be in my career yards per carry-wise and things like that – just being an efficient running back…The biggest thing for me is just studying the game, just understanding it and being efficient this year.”
Adding Bucky Irving in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft will only help lessen White’s workload and keep him fresh, while also providing a different element to the ground game. Irving is not the biggest or fastest running back at 5-foot-9, 192 pounds, but he has plenty of big-play, home-run ability stemming from his elusiveness that the Bucs have missed having on the ground.
“Well, there’s a 40 time and then there’s football game speed,” running backs coach Skip Peete said this offseason about Irving’s skillset. “I think when you watch him play, I think he’s quick enough to get away from the problems and issues, [he] has the ability to accelerate the crease and get through to the second and third level so I think that’s the most important thing. Some of the greatest running backs aren’t the fastest…”
Put all of this together, and the Bucs should have an improved running game this season with White and Irving leading the way, and if they do so, it will allow for Baker Mayfield to be more efficient in directing the offense and having more favorable situations to distribute the football, especially to his talented group of wide receivers.
Bucs Have Star WR Duo With Intriguing Options Behind Them
While the Browns attempted to give Baker Mayfield weapons to work with throughout his tenure there, it did not work out as expected. Throughout his time in Cleveland, it was Jarvis Landry who was his go-to weapon, despite the team trading for Odell Beckham Jr. going into the 2019 season. Mayfield and Beckham did not click and have much of a rapport, which led to Beckham’s release in 2021 during the quarterback’s own final season with the team.
It comes as little surprise then that during 2020 when Beckham tore his ACL midseason Mayfield was still able to have great success thanks to having a handful of weapons in the passing game. It was not just Landry who was involved, either.
As mentioned above, the running backs contributed heavily, and he had great success connecting with the tight end trio of Austin Hooper, Harrison Bryant, and David Njoku (89 receptions, 886 receiving yards, and nine touchdowns).
What does all of this mean as he heads into his second season with the Bucs?
Bucs Wrs Mike Evans And Chris Godwin
Bucs WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin – Photo by: USA Today
Well, as Scott Reynolds recently discussed in his latest Pewter Pulse, Baker Mayfield truly has passing weapons galore to work with, starting at wide receiver.
The pairing of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin remains one of the best in the league, and it is fair to say Mayfield enjoyed every bit of having each of them to throw to last season. It was only the second time in his career that he had two 1,000-yard receivers to work with, and Evans in particular found great success having him at quarterback, as Mayfield found him for plenty of big plays and a “baker’s dozen” 13 touchdowns.
Beyond just the star wide receiver duo Bucs fans already know plenty about, there is a lot to like about the depth behind them, too.
Rookie third-round pick Jalen McMillan has already garnered plenty of buzz this offseason after shining during mini-camp, and after being the highest-drafted wideout by the team since Godwin back in 2017, McMillan could prove to be a draft steal and someone who shines once he settles in and finds his role in this year’s Bucs’ offense.
Trey Palmer, Rakim Jarrett, and Sterling Shepard presumably round out the team’s depth chart heading into training camp, and there is plenty to like about their potential contributions when they see the field.
Although he has been passed up (for now) by McMillan, Palmer is someone who, when the ball is in his hands, has the chance to pass up anyone covering or chasing him down. His 4.33 speed makes him a dangerous vertical threat, and if Mayfield can connect with him down the field this season after coming ‘oh so close’ at times last year, he could provide plenty of instant offense.
Jarrett and Shepard may not be involved as much as the rest of the wide receivers, but Jarrett is someone the team remains high on and has had a nice offseason up until this point. There is still plenty of untapped potential in the former five-star wide receiver as he continues to learn how to turn his athleticism and physical build into results.
Shepard rounds out the depth chart, and what he brings most to the room is a veteran mentor who played his best football with Baker Mayfield back during their college days at Oklahoma. While the Bucs cannot expect him to return to his Giants production from earlier in his career, there could be the chance he makes a similar or slightly bigger impact than David Moore did last year in a pinch.
Cade Otton Has Chance To Build Off Playoff Run, Payne Durham May Add To TE Production
Looking at the tight end position, it lacks name recognition but could have a couple of guys that provide more production than expected. That starts with Cade Otton, who is entering a crucial third season to stake his claim as a long-term starting-caliber tight end. Since entering the league as a fourth-round pick in 2022, Otton has been a steady contributor, providing a check-down option for his quarterback while being a consistent short-yardage chain mover.
In the playoffs last season is where he started to establish himself more, and that is where the excitement lies in if he can take his play up a notch this season. Against the Eagles in the Wild Card round, Otton had eight receptions for 89 yards, following that performance with five receptions for 65 yards and a touchdown against the Lions in the Divisional round. If he can have more of those performances, that will only solidify him moving forward, and provide one of the best tight ends Baker Mayfield has worked with.
During his one season as offensive coordinator with the Rams in 2022, Liam Coen ensured that the tight end was a staple of his offense, with Tyler Higbee leading the team with 108 targets and finishing second with 72 receptions. Pairing that with Mayfield having the track record for getting his tight ends involved more than most quarterbacks, and that could lead to Otton having his best season yet.
As well as just Otton potentially becoming more of a factor, one of his backups could fight him for playing time. While Payne Durham only had five receptions for 58 yards last season, there is more than meets the eye with those numbers. Durham showed at Purdue that he is a valuable red zone target, and there is a reason why the Bucs made him one of their fifth-round picks in 2023.
General manager Jason Licht spoke highly of him this offseason and his belief that he could step up. If he shows a knack for making contested catches and being able to create more separation, Baker Mayfield may have a big target not named Mike Evans to throw the ball to near the goal line.
A More Solidified And Reinforced Bucs OL Will Protect QB Baker Mayfield
The last element of looking at Baker Mayfield’s supporting cast is the most important one.
The one that will be charged with protecting him and giving him the time to bake.
The offensive line.
Throughout his time with the Browns, Mayfield had at least one Pro Bowler along the offensive line. Left guard Joel Bitonio has long been one of the league’s best, and right guard Kevin Zeitler, right guard Wyatt Teller, and right tackle Jack Conklin have each been high-level starters with either a Pro Bowl or All-Pro selection to their name.
The Bucs’ offensive line had its warts last season, but it also has a pair of bookend tackles in Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke. That duo matches up with any in the league, and there is a lot of upside in a revamped interior offensive line being better than it was last season. For Wirfs, Goedeke, and right guard Cody Mauch, having another season set in their positions after they each switched sides will only be for their betterment, and it should lead to more consistent play, for Mauch especially entering his second season.
At left guard, there is still a big question mark, but the hope is that the competition between Ben Bredeson and Sua Opeta will lead to better play than Matt Feiler and Aaron Stinnie provided. At center, first-round pick Graham Barton will be the starter barring anything unforeseen, and there is a chance he quickly develops into one of the best at his position as soon as his rookie year. Putting this all together, the offensive line appears to be more solidified in their posts with the reinforcements to expect more from them in 2024.
What do you think, Pewter People? How does each offensive position group stack up to last season, and have the Bucs done enough to position Baker Mayfield for a more successful 2024? Leave your comments down below.
