Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Projecting day two at the 2018 NFL Draft
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Stay at Pick 38, Part Two
So, every good plan has the potential to go bad, and the one I just laid out for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is no different.
Duke Johnson is young, but Carlos Hyde is…young-ish. The former Buckeyes star turns 28 this year and is two short seasons away from hitting 30.
Running backs don’t have a long shelf-life as it is, and Hyde’s running style suggests he may end up on the accelerated path to decline for his position.
In his four years as an NFL running back, Hyde has played sixteen games just once. Granted, it was last year, but before this he missed at least two games every season and missed nine in 2015 alone.
Beyond his ability to withstand NFL punishment, his production simply isn’t impressive. Bucs fans were frustrated because Doug Martin could never maintain All-Pro levels of production.
Hyde has yet to even reach 1,000-yards rushing in a single year. In a time when rushing for 1,000-yards isn’t even all that celebrated anymore, it’s a mark any team will expect their primary ball carrier to reach.
With Johnson getting most of his production through the passing game, it’s possible the Browns look to one of their early second-round picks to find a primary runner who will at least be available when Hyde starts to breakdown.
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They don’t want to end up with Baker Mayfield and no running back, now do they?
For the Colts this is a bit easier to imagine. Marlon Mack is young and talented and had nearly 100 carries with a decent amount of success.
Averaging 3.8 yards per carry and scoring three touchdowns is nothing to scoff at if you’re a fourth-round draft pick on a team missing their offensive and team leader, Andrew Luck.
Playing behind the unbreakable Frank Gore doesn’t help Mack’s playing chances either. Well, Gore is gone now, so it’s all on a fourth round running back, right?
Well, maybe not. The NFL has seen many teams find success using a committee of running backs. The idea is a smart one.
Firstly, linebackers, safeties and even some cornerbacks hit harder now than ever before. New tackling rules are also going to lead to more low tackles which increases the risk of lower body injuries. Those are harder to come back from than head and shoulder injuries.
Now, the Colts do have some other guys on the roster already. Christine Michael, Robert Turbin and Matt Jones have all had varying levels of success in their pasts. Not star levels of course, but if they had they wouldn’t be sharing a locker room, would they?
Still, there has to be at least some thought going on in the Colts’ war room that a running back needs to be considered. Because even when Luck returns to action, it’d be nice to have a solid rotation of running backs to lean on as they bring him back into the fray.