Buccaneers must unleash running back Ronald Jones after bye

One-upping Peyton Barber in almost every statistical category, it is time for the Buccaneers to unleash Ronald Jones at the running back position.

The running back position has been nothing short of a headache for fans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season. While Ronald Jones and Peyton Barber have had success as a duo to this point, many fans are wondering if there should even be a duo.

While head coach Bruce Arians has held firm on his hot hand approach, we have seen the two backs alternate drives frequently. Ronald Jones seems like he is set to be let free and take the reigns as the team’s primary rusher, yet his carries are still severely limited.

Jones has much more explosiveness than Barber for starters; how often when Barber gets the ball do you think he can break one off? Jones also has the third-lowest time in yards behind the line of scrimmage with a time of 2.46 showing when he gets the ball; he just hits the hole.

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Barber himself is eighth in this stat with a time of 2.65. The stat that speaks the most when comparing the two is yards per carry. Jones is averaging 4.4 yards per carry on 63 attempts. Barber is averaging almost a yard less at 3.5 yards a carry.

For Jones fans, though, he has been getting more and more into Barber’s reps each week. The Bucs should start using Jones in more creative ways, as well, as every run the Bucs call seems to be some variation of inside zone.

Rarely have we seen a run go to the outside on a pitch or stretch. Jones has the speed to run outside and get to the boundaries or even cut it back inside. In the charts below are just a few examples of Jones having more explosion than Barber and what can happen when he gets to the outside.

If the Bucs want both to see the field, they might consider putting both Ronald Jones and Barber in at the same time. They could do a few things out of this like swing passes, and motion plays. However, the Bucs want to do it they need to get Jones more touches coming out of the bye week.