Tampa Bay Buccaneers: NFC South running back rankings
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Last season, the Buccaneers had one of the worst running attacks in the entire league. They finished 27th in rushing yardage, with just 3.7 yards per carry, and only eight touchdowns. Their longest run went for a pathetic 36 yards. On top of that, their longest rushing touchdown was two yards. TWO! The stats are staggering to read, and the reason why every Buccaneer fan and analyst in the world knew that the team would make running back a priority this off-season.
Good news, everyone: you were right! The Bucs used one of their three second round picks on Ronald Jones, an explosive play-maker out of USC. Jones brings an explosive element to the Buccaneer offense that they haven’t had on a consistent basis since Cadillac Williams. Last season Jones had 1400 yards rushing, 18 touchdowns, and a ridiculously efficient 6.1 yards per carry. He should supplant Peyton Barber as the starting Buccaneer rather quickly into training camp.
Great stat: Bucs’ longest rush TD last year was 2 yards, while every other team had one of at least 12 yards ... https://t.co/cuqEi5zzz8
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) May 22, 2018
That doesn’t mean Barber won’t still have a role to play, though. Barber showed a good amount of promise last season despite running behind a shoddy, injury-riddled offensive line. At 5’11, 209 lbs Jones might not be suited for a 25 touch role right away, so I expect the team to rotate backs fairly regularly. Charles Sims will more than likely still be on the field for third downs, until Ronald Jones proves he can hold up in pass protection.
Behind an improved offensive line and on the back of rookie Ronald Jones, I think we’re going to see a much better running game in 2018. For one, it can’t get much worse or ineffectual than it was last season. Secondly, they will very rarely face stacked boxes with extra defenders, as teams will be far more concerned with containing DeSean Jackson and the other explosive Buccaneer pass-catchers.