Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield typically evokes different kinds of emotion when brought up in discussions. His career dating back to his college days at Oklahoma all the way to his first season with Tampa Bay has been a true roller coaster of entertainment. 

After being counted out in his professional career, only to get back on top with a redemption season in Tampa Bay, Baker Mayfield is back in the conversation for the right reasons. As we just look back at Baker Mayfield’s 2023 season on its own merit, how good was it?

And better yet, what can he do for an encore act?

On last Thursday’s episode of the Pewter Report Podcast we were joined by NFL Films senior producer, Greg Cosell, who gave his response to the question. Cosell is considered one of the best football analysts in the history of the game because of his film breakdowns, so his opinion holds more weight than most.

Can Baker Mayfield Sustain His Level Of Play?

Greg Cosell shared what he thinks of Baker Mayfield as a quarterback and how he best functions in Tampa Bay’s offense.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

“I don’t think there’s a lot of mystery to Baker Mayfield in the way in which he has to play to be successful,” Cosell said. “And I think everybody knows that. I talk to coaches over the years not specifically about him, but coaches who’ve been on the staff when Baker is the quarterback. 

“So I’ve had conversations and I don’t think there’s a lot of mystery. I think Baker at his core, and I actually thought this when I watched his tape coming out of Oklahoma, he’s essentially a timing rhythm player and he’s smaller, so he needs to be protected. I remember the one year in Cleveland when it kind of went downhill.”

Cosell continued his summarization of Mayfield. 

“They were stuck in third-and-long so many times,” Cosell said. “And, you know, obviously no quarterback wants to be in that situation. Some can handle it better than others. That’s not his deal. While he’s not a statue or totally immobile, he’s not really a playmaker. Right, in that sense. So he’s a timing rhythm player. And I think Dave Canales understood that really well.”

There’s no question that Canales, Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator last year, helped Baker Mayfield get back on track. Canales is the Panthers coach now, so it’s time once again for the Bucs quarterback to work with yet another coordinator. Luckily he has familiarity with Liam Coen from their time together in Los Angeles. 

“Now they have Liam Coen and given his background, I would expect that Baker Mayfield would really like this offense and would really like all the concepts,” Cosell said. “It’s the Rams stuff, so it’s a lot of motion. There’s no reason to believe that he can’t play well within the system now. He still needs to be protected. He’s a smaller guy. He’s not necessarily great when there are bodies around him. Some need it more than others in order to succeed.  I think that this offense, quite frankly, is a really good fit for almost any quarterback and certainly for a Baker Mayfield kind of quarterback.”

Defining Baker Mayfield

It would be tough to argue that Baker Mayfield is a Top 10 quarterback in the league. But is he in the Top 15 or a Top 20 QB?

What’s the best way to define what kind of quarterback Mayfield is? Cosell took an attempt at it.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“How would I define him? I mean we started this with the idea that there’s to me, there’s not a lot of mystery as to what he is, if he’s protected,” Cosell said. “And we talked about the interior of the O-line and the run game can be better. It doesn’t have to be the best in the league, but it’s a factor. I think Baker can function at a reasonably high level. Now again, we’re not going to talk about Baker Mayfield the same way we talk about Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow or Josh Allen.”

Cosell said that Mayfield actually has a reasonably high ceiling. And he even compared him to one of the better quarterbacks in today’s NFL.

“But Baker – and I don’t want fans to think I’m making a direct comparison because I’m not – but I think Baker can play stylistically more like a Joe Burrow. Like that would be his style of play – where he works from the pocket at a pretty high level. Burrow has better movement, but Baker would have enough movement that he’s not a statue. 

“There are other factors that have to be in play for Baker to do that every single week. And if those factors are not in play, like if the defense were to be bad, if the run game was nonexistent again, you know, there are many factors that would make it difficult for Baker.”

With tons of variables for every player, especially at quarterback, it makes sense as to why Baker Mayfield had his peaks and valleys during the season before going on a nice run at the end of the year. Another year in Tampa Bay working with the same group can hopefully achieve better results.

Check out the full episode of the Pewter Report Podcast – energized by Celsius – with Greg Cosell and our conversation with him about the Bucs.