Bogged down by a terrible rushing attack from a year ago, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had their offensive arsenal ranked middle of the road.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell ranked all of the supporting casts in the NFL, and he placed the arsenal of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the 14th best in the league. Last year Barnwell ranked them 15th, and the year before that he had them slotted as the tenth best cast in the league.
If it had not been for the running backs on the Buccaneers’ roster, Barnwell would have ranked their supporting cast much higher. However, with the “league’s worst running back corps,” he dropped the Buccaneers all the way to the 14th position in the league.
The Buccaneers are loaded with receiving talent however, so much so that Barnwell writes, “They’ve made it to No. 14 because Tampa’s receiving corps could be devastating” (via ESPN). Mike Evans is coming off a year where the advanced statistics are just jaw dropping, and now with Chris Godwin and O.J. Howard poised for big years, the Buccaneers’ passing attack could be potent.
Make no mistake, Jameis Winston loves to sling the football all over the field, and new head coach Bruce Arians and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich are going to let him show off his arm this year. If the Buccaneers can establish a rushing attack this season, their offense could be poised to post gaudy numbers.
With Peyton Barber set to lead the rushing attack again this year after nearly hitting 1,000 yards rushing a year ago, the Buccaneers are hoping that a change in blocking scheme up front will do the trick of clearing more running lanes. Second year back Ronald Jones must develop tremendously this year if he hopes to sniff the field in 2019, and if he doesn’t, it may be his last year in Tampa Bay.
On paper, the Buccaneers’ offense looks great if the offensive line can hold their own. Should the running game make a leap this year, the Buccaneers could be looking at a top-ten offense this year with the weapons they have surrounding Winston in 2019.