Buccaneers: Tampa has to address running game during 2020 offseason

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers must address the running game during the 2020 offseason to have a successful offensive attack.

There’s no doubting that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a promising, young running back in Ronald Jones II heading into this 2020 season.

Jones II rushed 172 times for 724 yards (4.2 YPC) and six touchdowns while also catching 31 passes for 309 yards. It should be expected that he sees that amount of carries increase exponentially over the course of 2020.

That being said, the Buccaneers still have to find a way to address the running game during the offseason.

Tampa Bay has been near the bottom of the league in rushing for the past half-decade. The Buccaneers have not been able to consistently get a rushing attack going and, if they’re going to make a playoff run, they’re going to need a capable running back who can come in and be a perfect complement to Jones II this year.

The easiest way to do this? Through the 2020 NFL Draft.

Of course, there’s options like Derrick Henry, Melvin Gordon and others who could be available in free-agency, but the value of getting a player on his rookie contract can’t be understated, especially if he is able to make a similar impact.

Some of those potential options?

• D’Andre Swift (Round 1)
• Jonathan Taylor (Round 1-2)
• J.K. Dobbins (Round 2)
• Clyde Edwards-Helaire (Round 2)
• Cam Akers (Round 2-3)
• Zach Moss (Round 2-4)
• Lamical Perine (Round 3-4)
• A.J. Dillon (Round 4-5)
• Anthony McFarland Jr. (Round 3-6)
• Darius Anderson (Round 4-6)

There’s plenty of potential running back talent- especially at the top and middle portions of this draft- for the Buccaneers to find a guy who can not only be a solid back-up to Jones II, but to also become an active play-maker in the offensive attack.

Out of this group listed above, I would keep my eyes especially on J.K. Dobbins and A.J. Dillon. Dobbins would be a second-round draft pick, but he may have the most explosive ability out of the entire group of running backs.

I don’t see the value in drafting a running back in the first-round like D’Andre Swift or potentially Jonathan Taylor, but the value of getting a play-maker like Dobbins may be too much to pass up and would give the Buccaneers a legitimate option in both the running game and the passing attack out of the backfield.