NFC Notes: Baker Mayfield, Bucky Irving, Buccaneers, Falcons

Buccaneers

Buccaneers OC Liam Coen notes that QB Baker Mayfield still has a chip on his shoulder even though he is the QB1 in Tampa.

“There are not many days, I don’t think, Baker wakes up and he doesn’t have a chip on his left shoulder,” Coen said in his press conference. “But there is definitely a feeling that this is his team and it’s OK to fail. It’s OK. Go out there and let it rip and be yourself every single day no matter what because you’re going to be the guy and we believe in you. And I think that’s something that, ultimately, he just hasn’t really had the opportunity to have all that often in his career. So, you definitely feel a calming confidence. But he’s still the same guy. He’s out there when we get on the grass talking smack and getting after it and just having fun with the guys. And I think that’s ultimately what makes him a great leader, is because his best friends are the O-line.”

“The atmosphere that we want to be able to establish in the meeting rooms is one of the players being the drivers of it,” Coen continued. “And, yes, we are installing and teaching a new offense. But he knows a lot of these things already, he’s heard them, he’s repped them. And so, him just taking it over — he has done a great job in the meeting-room setting of talking to some of the guys [and saying], ‘Hey man, make sure you’re here.’ And that’s what we’re trying to establish. And the confidence of throwing the football, I think, has been impressive thus far. We haven’t had a ton of balls hit the ground and he’s throwing it with a lot of confidence right now.”

Buccaneers

Buccaneers RB coach Skip Peete believes that fourth-round RB Bucky Irving is a playmaker and can compete with RB Rachaad White for a place in the backfield this season.

“The more you have success, the more I’ll leave you in there,” Peete said, via PewterReport.com. “Doesn’t matter whether you’re a five-year guy, rookie, or second-year guy, the best guy to help us win to do the best job is going to play. I think Bucky was drafted to come in here and help this football team so I mean he’s going to have an opportunity to showcase what he can do. I think it’s going to create a lot of competition in the room, which is a good thing for everybody.”

Falcons

In video from the Jets’ draft room, Jets GM Joe Douglas described the Falcons were interested in trading for their No. 10 overall pick after drafting Michael Penix. 

“They are definitely picking,” Douglas said. “And they want to come back up. So they want 8 and 10.”

However, New York wound up trading down just one selection with the Vikings.

“Minnesota still wants to come up to 10. We can get something for nothing,” Douglas said.