A big make-or-break for the Bucs this season will come from the level of play at the quarterback position.

However much success comes from the starter will determine just how legitimate the team is to contend for the NFC South title.

In case you have not watched or listened to it yet, Pewter Report recently had Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales on as a podcast special guest. During his appearance, Canales shared plenty of insightful information on the offense heading into this season, from utilizing analytics to his philosophy and game plan as a whole.

Another huge takeaway was his breakdown of the quarterback room. Already, he sees that each of Tampa Bay’s signal-callers possesses key strengths while having areas to improve and grow.

Dave Canales Sees Leadership, Arm Strength In Baker Mayfield

Dave Canales started his dissection of the Bucs’ quarterback room by talking about Baker Mayfield. The former No. 1 overall pick in 2018 comes to Tampa Bay with plenty of eyes on him, as this is likely his last chance to stake a claim as a starting NFL quarterback. It is not hard for one to talk themselves into thinking he can have a bounce-back season similar to Geno Smith’s in Seattle last season. Being in a quarterback-friendly offense tailored to what he likes is one reason, but another is that Mayfield has the experience, swagger, and ability to make big plays happen.

Bucs OC Dave Canales and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“One of the things that would be really obvious to Bucs fans and everybody else watching from the outside in is Baker’s got way more game-time experience,” Canales said. “So you see the comfort level that he has in the huddle with the guys; there’s some cool leadership stuff coming out of him. His ability to do that – he’s done it for so long, and then he’s got some familiarity in the system coming from L.A., so some of that was pretty fluid.”

While Mayfield averaged a career-low 6.5 yards per pass attempt last season, Canales does not see his arm strength being an issue. Based on what he said about his quarterback, the Bucs appear to have added another cannon to their artillery.

“One of the things that just jumped out right away is his ability to throw the ball down the field to anybody,” Canales said. “Putting the ball in a catchable place down the field, I was like, ‘Oh, this is cool, I’m used to this.’ Whether it was Russell [Wilson] or Geno, I’m used to this guy being able to launch it. I think one of the things that Baker has also brought is that ability to know when to fold ’em and say this is not the coverage for this play, get it down quick, get it out; next play.”

While there is plenty to like, there are still things left to be worked on. It is only late June, and training camp is roughly a month away. The intricacies of the playbook and how it fits around the quarterback is still a work in progress.

“Where Baker can improve is just his specific footwork and timing for the different concepts as he gets to learn,” Canales said. “Because while we learned so much football from Sean McVay and the Rams through [offensive coordinator] Shane [Waldron] in Seattle, a lot of our pass game was built and designed around Russell and carried over. We learned our answers that way, so there are some things that Baker’s still learning that he likes, so we’re working on those things.”

Dave Canales Wants Kyle Trask To Be Comfortable And Piece It Together

Kyle Trask is the lone returning quarterback this season, and he is continuing his growth track under Dave Canales. Entering his third season, there has been more buzz around Trask reading defenses more proficiently and being more precise with his throws.

Bucs OC Dave Canales and QB Kyle Trask – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“As far as Kyle goes, I think one of the coolest things that popped up for me was his ability to see the vertical seams on all-go, four verts, two-by-two, three-by-one, empty [sets], with some end-of-the-game situations,” Canales said. “His ability to see where the defender’s at on this guy running vertically, and layer the ball. Put it on his back shoulder…throwing it lower. He had all kinds of cool throws in between the numbers.

“Probably one of the coolest things was like, ‘Hey, I haven’t had a lot of 6-foot-5 quarterbacks.’ It’s like there are some different voids that he can take advantage of and see being that tall.”

Besides his size being an advantage, there has also been some talk this offseason that Trask is more mobile than previously believed. Canales reiterated that this is something that will help him in a more horizontally-spread offense that relies on bootlegs and waggles from the quarterback to fully develop plays and buy time for receivers to create separation.

“I was pleasantly surprised by his mobility in the boot game,” Canales said. “Being able to pull up when he has a dirty edge — that’s just if you have pressure or a defensive end plays out of it and is in your lap. To watch him be able to twitch up, find a platform and a completion or throw it away, those are some of the things that I didn’t know what I was getting with him, but he handled it great, and we drilled the heck out of it.”

The biggest knock on Trask compared to Mayfield is his experience. It is hard to fully evaluate a quarterback that has yet to start an NFL game and has thrown just nine passes in his career. With that in mind, it also means that he is not as comfortable leading the troops just yet.

“I think for Kyle, some of the places where he can continue to grow are just his level of comfort with all of the plays and all of this new terminology,” Canales said. “Being in the huddle with the guys, he’s got great command, but he doesn’t quite have that level of comfort to just say like, ‘I got this.’ He’s still working on, ‘Okay, now I got the play. I know what I’m doing. I know what my progression is. What’s my footwork again?’ So it’s just like piecing all of those things together, but you can see the talent; you can see why they took him in the second round with some of the special throws that he’s had throughout this camp.”

Dave Canales Discusses How Bucs Starting QB Will Be Chosen

Protecting the football on offense is paramount to Tampa Bay’s success. That’s why Dave Canales has said that the quarterback that does the better job avoiding turnovers will emerge as the starter.

Bucs OC Dave Canales and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“That’s it,” Canales said. “I mean so that’s one way of looking at it. And then the other way, the other way of looking at it is this these guys both play absolutely lights out. They play out of their mind – we’re talking like 80% completion in training camp, preseason. And they’re just ripping it and neither one of them turns it over right and none of them turn it over. Then it’s who has the most explosive plays? Yeah, that guy will get the job. Or throws the most touchdowns? That guy gets the job.”

Canales is hoping that the Bucs can mimic what happened in Seattle in 2021 when Russell Wilson and Geno Smith went toe-to-toe in training camp and the preseason. Smith’s development behind the scenes played a role in the Seahawks trading Wilson to Denver and Smith’s emergence as the starter in 2022 when he made his first Pro Bowl in 2022, led Seattle to the playoffs and won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors.

“No, you’re absolutely right,” Canales said. “Not that Russell was ever competing for his job, but when Geno was playing behind him, Geno was in the high 70s (percentage), 80s (percentage) and he’s completing the ball, and he was throwing the ball down the field. But Russ would have slight edge because he threw a few more touchdowns. It was like here’s two guys playing ball the right way. One guy knows these players, the starters, a little bit better. He’s getting a few more touchdowns.

“That’s my highest hope – that I can create two guys who are playing their butts off, and somebody just took the keys and said, ‘I’m driving the car.'”

Watch Dave Canales On The Pewter Report Podcast

Check out the latest Pewter Report Podcast with Special Guest: Bucs OC Dave Canales by clicking the link below.