It appears Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield is no Checkdown Charlie.
Mayfield, per the football thinktank @fball_insights, had the 12th-highest percentage of checkdown passes in the game last season.
The graphic below demonstrates the amount of time after the snap when quarterbacks bailed and checked down. The majority of Mayfield’s checkdowns (18 percent) came four seconds or longer after the snap.
This tells Joe several things. First, Mayfield is patient, allowing receivers to get open before giving up on a play. It also tells Joe that Mayfield can afford to be patient. He’s getting damn good protection.
And Joe thinks it is fair to suggest if Bucs receivers are not open four seconds after the snap, they likely aren’t going to get open.
Joe thinks it is reasonable to conclude that more often than not, Bucs receivers were getting open quicker than four seconds. Given the fact Liam Coen liked a quick, dink-and-dunk offense, that also suggests guys were open quickly.
And it’s also likely Mayfield trusts the guys that he is hitting on checkdowns. You know, it’s nice to have a pair of targets in the backfield like Bucky Irving and Rachaad White.
