As hard-working and dedicated as all the other players on offense can be in getting the new offense set, it won’t work if the quarterback isn’t up to speed. Head Coach Todd Bowles has seen Baker do everything necessary to make sure he’s ready to run the show.
“There’s a lot of nuances to it,” said Bowles of Robinson’s playbook. “I think [Mayfield] has done a great job. He’s in here every morning at 7:00 a.m. [which] people don’t see. He’s got it down pretty good. He’s got a good feel for it.”
One of the bigger adjustments for the players in Robinson’s scheme, and one that the offensive line has happiy embraced, is more variety in the run game calls, with the addition of a number of wide-zone concepts. The Buccaneers ranked fourth in the NFL in rushing yards per game and third in yards per carry in 2024 under Coen but slipped to 21st and 26th in those two categories, respectively, last season. Mayfield sees a more varied scheme potentially getting the Bucs back to a more balanced attack in 2026.
“I think just not always relying on the gap scheme stuff,” he said. “I think when you look at it, we started out as much more mid-zone and zone schemes in 2024, and then the changeup was our gap-puller game. We were able to increase people and they didn’t know what was coming. Last year, we kind of leaned on that too much to where teams can really tee off on it, bring some pressures to stop that. It’s tough to run when defenses get a bead on that. I think Zac’s understanding of the run game and how to keep teams unbalanced on the defensive side of the ball, how to set things and just the play-action of the run game. I’ve said it to you guys: You can’t win in this league dropping 50 times a game, drop back 50 times a game. You have to be able to run the ball, have to be able to do play-action, screen. You need to be able to throw it when you have to, but it starts with the run game and then play-acton after that.”
Of course, Robinson and Bowles can map out exactly how they want to run this process of installing a new offense, but it won’t always go exactly to plan. One factor that inevitably affects plans in every training camp across the league is injuries. Key players such as Emeka Egbuka, Jalen McMillan, Tez Johnson and Cade Otton have led to some lineup shuffling, but in some cases that has produced results that perhaps the coaching staff wasn not contemplating when camp began.
“Guys being nicked up and having to flex guys in, it’s given us an opportunity to kind of explore some different packages, put guys in different spots, testing things,” said Mayfield. “Obviously, you want everybody out there, but it’s been good for us to deal with some challenges early on. It’s going to happen in-season.”