The Pewter Plank
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5 reasons why the Buccaneers shouldn’t draft Jonathan Taylor

By Rob Leeds

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - DECEMBER 07: Jonathan Taylor #23 of the Wisconsin Badgers runs for a touchdown against the Ohio State Buckeyes during BIG Ten Football Championship Game2 at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 07, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - DECEMBER 07: Jonathan Taylor #23 of the Wisconsin Badgers runs for a touchdown against the Ohio State Buckeyes during BIG Ten Football Championship Game2 at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 07, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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TAMPA, FL – DECEMBER 21: Runningback Ronald Jones II #27 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers leaps over his blockers during the game against the Houston Texans at Raymond James Stadium on December 21, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. The Texans defeated the Buccaneers 23 to 20. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL – DECEMBER 21: Runningback Ronald Jones II #27 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers leaps over his blockers during the game against the Houston Texans at Raymond James Stadium on December 21, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. The Texans defeated the Buccaneers 23 to 20. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /

This reason is self-explanatory. Why would the Buccaneers spend a first or second-round pick on a running back after doing the same thing just two years ago?

Jonathan Taylor was a beast in college and had a great combine, but he is not that much better than Rojo that the Bucs should just move on.

No matter how good Taylor would be in 2020, it would at best one be a marginal improvement over Ronald Jones behind the current Buccaneer offensive line.

The standard metric for running back success is whether or not they can put together a 1,000-yard season on the ground and Jones was on that pace. Had it not been for Peyton Barber, in 2019 the Bucs would have fielded their first 1,000+ yard rusher since Doug Martin.

Jones was very good in the pass game and was a shifty runner outside and between the tackles. Jonathan Taylor may be a better talent, but he would at best only average a few tenths of a yard more per carry than Jones, and even that metric seems far off with the current offensive line and scheme.

The Buccaneers have seen the upside that they receive with Jones and know that he is a multi-dimensional player that can find success while splitting reps or in a duo. It just makes more economic sense to keep Rojo as the RB1 as a way of saving tons of money relevant to a slight improvement in talent with Jonathan Taylor.

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