Bold projections for Buccaneers after the first quarter of the season
By Rob Leeds
Ronald Jones ends the rushing drought
The Buccaneers have been without a 1,000-yard rusher for half a decade. Doug Martin was the last Buccaneer to do it, and no one has come close since then.
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Ronald Jones was a question mark to start the season with the additions of Leonard Fournette, LeSean McCoy, and Ke’Shawn Vaughn, but he is currently the player with the best shot of reaching this goal presently on the roster.
So far on the season, Jones has 253 rushing yards, 57 receiving yards, and a touchdown. If those numbers hold consistent for the season, Jones could finish with 1,012 rushing yards, 228 receiving yards, and four rushing touchdowns.
At the rate the Buccaneers are playing, Jones could easily earn this accomplishment if the coaching staff continues to call runs at the right time. Jones has improved by a substantial amount as a runner over his previous two seasons, and his rushing numbers could be higher at the end of the season than they are projected here.
The receiving yards has been the worst part of Jones’ game so far, and the dropped passes have been an exceptionally low point. Two hundred twenty-eight receiving yards should be the bare minimum by the end of the season, but that number should be substantially higher given the use of backs in the pass game.