It doesn’t seem real. It cannot be true. There’s no way Baker Mayfield can have among the most time to throw of any NFL QB.
Not with the right side of the line looking so bad. Not with all the throws Mayfield has made under pressure.
But it is true. According to Pro Football Focus and their tracking of every player on every play, Baker Mayfield ranks fifth in time to throw the ball on average, getting 2.72 seconds of protection from his line. At NFL Next Gen Stats, Mayfield ranks third in time to throw at 2.96 seconds.
What does that mean?
It means Mayfield himself is responsible for a lot of the pressure and hits he’s taking. It means the Browns passing scheme is requiring routes that take too long to develop. It means Mayfield is holding the ball too long, something the game tape shows just as much as Eric Kush or Chris Hubbard struggling in pass protection. It means quick defeats up front get exacerbated by Mayfield’s indecision and maddening propensity to always escape back and to his right.
Here’s the good news. The one game where Mayfield did a good job of getting the ball out quickly, the win in Baltimore, the offense looked very good. He still faced some pressure, but Mayfield didn’t let it impact him. The offense and the line as it currently exists can indeed work, but it’s on Mayfield to make that happen. Giving the receivers quicker-developing routes or having a hot outlet to fire to when under quick pressure is also something that can help.
