Comeback Player of the Year: RB Ronald Jones II
I mean, it could not get any worse for Ronald Jones II after his terrible rookie season, could it? While Jones still has a way to go before eating into Peyton Barber’s carries or making a huge impact on the field, he is trending in the right direction.
When discussing Jones with The Athletic’s Greg Auman last week, he had this to say of the second year running back:
"“What we did see was a lot of praise for Ronald Jones from teammates, from coaches. It is tricky because it is Spring so it is kind of a non-contact, short practice where you can look good, but you are looking good because you know no one can hit you…I do think he has shown the right things to set himself up to have a bigger role” (Auman via The Pewter Plank)."
Jones has a quicker twitch to him than Barber, which should give him an athletic advantage in Arians and Leftwich’s offense, but he still has some work to do between the ears and has to continue to thrive even when the pads come on.
However, the Buccaneers did little to challenge Barber and Jones this offseason, opting not to utilize a draft pick or any money in free agency on the position. This shows that Tampa Bay still has belief in the two running backs, and if Jones thrives in camp, then they will be forced to work him into the rotation in 2019, leading to a much larger output than his disappointing rookie campaign.