Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans react to the pick of running back Ronald Jones II out of USC.
Well, it was a surprise, but it wasn’t a surprise. We knew the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would pursue a running back with one of their second round picks. With LSU’s Derrius Guice sliding, many Bucs fans were on board with him being the new feature back of the Bucs. Instead, the Bucs brass went with home run threat Ronald Jones II out of USC.
Pro Football Focus had Jones rated as their top running back prospect;
Our top graded running back in the class was just selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Ronald Jones II heads from the west coast to the east coast pic.twitter.com/VCNm2ib9VC
— PFF College (@PFF_College) April 27, 2018
Jones has a reputation (apparently) of not being a tough runner, coming in at under six feet and 200 pounds. He averaged 3.5 yards after contact – more than second overall selection Saquon Barkley – and as you can see above, had no issues breaking tackles.
Jones also provides the explosive play threat, making him a solid compliment to Peyton Barber. After the sting of not drafting Guice wears off on a lot of fans, I think they’ll like the pick much better. Here is some of the reaction we received after the pick was announced;
— Baby Face Assassin (@TMP_Franchize) April 27, 2018
Ronald Jones will be hot garbage in the NFL. He can share a flat
— Ryan Litvak (@rlitvak) April 27, 2018
with Bishop Sankey.
Love it!
— Jonathan Bowman (@StPeteJB) April 27, 2018
Melvin Gordon combined for 22 catches in college. Has 33, 41, and 58 in his 3 seasons. People confuse not being asked to catch with cant catch
— Joe Marenna (@Bucsfan818) April 27, 2018
Jones is a steal in 2nd round. Track guy with lots of power. I think he better then Chubb and guice..
— JUICEWRLD!!! (@Yankeepride1738) April 27, 2018
Absolutely love it. I breathed a huge sigh of relief that we finally grabbed a legitimate starting RB.
— Sean Lovegrove (@seanlovegrove1) April 27, 2018
Compliments Barber, good pick, but I would have preferred Guice. That said, I'm watching the draft not getting paid to make the picks, so...#GoBucs
— Jeff Yates (@bucfanjeff) April 27, 2018
Another garbage pick. Licht is looking primed for replacement
— Clay Goupil 🦬 (@claybropilFL) April 27, 2018
I preferred Guice but still a solid pick.
— Jay Smith (@rearranged44) April 27, 2018
Confused as his pass blocking is terrible and Koetter said that is important for him
— T (@BucWild007) April 27, 2018
I love it. He's primed for production in our offense and is the kind of low-key guy I could see being a star next year. No one was super hype about Kamara and that turned out great.
— Josh Hill (@jdavhill) April 27, 2018
It’s a mostly positive reaction, with some negativity mixed in. Definitely a warmer reception than Vita Vea received on Twitter Thursday night. One of the other misconceptions is that Jones can’t catch out of the backfield.
There is a difference between not being able to catch out of the backfield and not being asked to catch out of the backfield. Jones certainly has the skill set to do so when called upon and can be a game breaking playmaker with the ball in his hands.
Next: Buccaneers Select Ronald Jones II
I was all aboard the Guice hype train, but Jones looks fantastic from what I’ve seen thus far. Patient runner that allows the holes to open up then hits them at full speed within two steps. He doesn’t dance around, he makes his cut and gets north and south as fast as he can. Certainly different from what we’ve seen out of Buccaneers back in recent years.