3 Lingering Questions Facing Buccaneers' Offense: Explosive Play Potential Analyzed

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have yet another new offensive coordinator. How will he fare?

Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are getting plenty of attention for revamping their defense, but the offense looks quite a bit different, too.

The Bucs are rolling with their fifth offensive coordinator in as many seasons, and this time, it's a name they're very familiar with — former Atlanta Falcons playcaller Zac Robinson. Additionally, the Bucs picked up a new running back in Kenny Gainwell and a new potential X wide receiver in Ted Hurst after the departure of Mike Evans.

It would be hard to be worse than last year's offensive unit in theory — especially with the slew of injuries Tampa Bay suffered last season — but there are still some things we're curious about as training camp is soon to kick off on July 28.

To Go Deep or Not to Go Deep?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) throws a pass against the Carolina Panthers in the first half | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers tried to stretch the field with Josh Grizzard in 2025 after keeping things short and intermediate under Liam Coen in 2024. That change definitely didn't work, so will the Bucs keep trying to generate explosive plays?

The Bucs went deep on 10.57% of their passing plays in 2025, up 2.86 percentage points from 2024's rate of 7.71%, per SumerSports. The result? The Bucs were less explosive, generating explosive plays on 8.64% of their plays in 2024 as opposed to 10.34% in 2025, and their success rate plummeted from 50.76% in 2024 to 43.69%.

On top of all that, Tampa Bay generated a staggering 472 more yards per catch in 2024 than 2025. Mayfield went deep on 59 of his passes in 2025 and completed just 14 of them (23.73%), so Tampa Bay's high-flying tendencies majorly backfired last year.

Many NFL offenses live and die on explosive plays. Will Zac Robinson try to go downfield more efficiently, or will he stick to shorter passes and try to generate YAC as Coen did in 2024?

Will Zac Robinson Continue to Rely on the Pistol?

Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson on the field before a game against the Los Angeles Rams | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Robinson has become somewhat notorious for how often he used the pistol formation — an offensive formation where the quarterback lines up a few yards off center and the running back lines up behind him — over his two years with the Atlanta Falcons.

Robinson utilized the pistol 35.45% of the time in 2024 and 35.11% of the time in 2025. Both of those percentages firmly put the Falcons in the top spot for pistol usage both years, with the closest competitor coming in at 26.62% in 2024 (Miami Dolphins) and 19.39% in 2025 (also the Dolphins), per SumerSports.

The pistol helps quarterbacks with mobility issues, particularly when handing the ball off with downhill momentum, so many have assumed that Robinson utilized this formation to help immobile Atlanta quarterbacks like Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix Jr. This made the offense predictable with how often it used it, though, and Robinson is already showing it off early during OTAs and minicamp.

Did Robinson use the pistol so ridiculously often to compensate for his injured quarterbacks, or is it genuinely part of his offensive philosophy no matter who is behind center? We're certainly about to find out.

What Will the Red Zone Offense Look Like?

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell (14) runs against the Baltimore Ravens | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

Let's talk more about Robinson's tendencies. He loves to run the ball in the red zone — he ran the ball inside the red zone 60.48% of the time in 2024 and 59.87% in 2025, both percentages around 10 percentage points above the league average in both years, per SumerSports.

His red zone offense was far more successful than Tampa Bay's last year. The Falcons finished 10th in the NFL in red zone conversion rate at 62%, while the Bucs finished a measly 24th at 54%. Tampa Bay grabbed running back Kenny Gainwell in the offseason, and he could be the piece that allows Robinson to keep rolling with this tendency.

Gainwell had five rushing touchdowns last year inside the 20-yard line last year, and running back Bucky Irving, whom he will be paired with, had eight rushing touchdowns and 4.03 yards per carry inside the 20-yard line in 2024 when he played the whole season. Robinson probably likes that about both backs.

The Falcons ran quite a bit more than the Bucs did in the red zone last season. Will the Bucs transform their offense and have similar numbers this year? Or will the team stick to what they know?

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