Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 3 undrafted rookies to watch at camp
By Cory Kinnan
RB Bruce Anderson
To anyone who watched a single Buccaneers’ football game a year ago, it is not a shock to say they had one of the worst rushing attacks in the league; they ranked 29th out of every team in the NFL. During the draft, the Buccaneers also decided to pass up the opportunity to draft a running back and have decided to run it back with Ronald Jones and Peyton Barber.
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While the Buccaneers expect a jump from Jones, taken in the second round a year ago, Barber will still enter camp as the lead back. Failing to rush for four yards per carry is a recipe to look for added depth behind these two: enter Bruce Anderson.
Listed at 5-11 and 210 pounds, Anderson rushed for nearly 3,000 career yards for the FCS North Dakota State Bisons including over 1,000 yards in 2017. Anderson fell just 76 yards short of 1,000 yards rushing last season, but overall put together a very effective career, scoring 27 total touchdowns over the last two seasons.
At his pro day, Anderson ran a 4.58 second 40 yard dash time, but hit an impressive 22 reps on the bench press. He could give the Buccaneers a solid punch-in-the-mouth style back as early as this year considering the lack of depth at the running back position.