Buccaneers: 5 options to be the next running back addition

Draft option #1 for the Buccaneers

Kenneth Gainwell, Memphis

The Buccaneers should not draft a running back in the first round. No matter what anyone says, a first-round pick on a running back is not the best decision to make. Production is one thing, but look at all of the former first-round backs that are getting paid right now, only to put their teams in financial holes as a result.

Players like Najee Harris and Travis Etienne are exciting options to pair with Tom Brady, but neither is as good of a pass-catcher as Kenneth Gainwell from Memphis, and both would require far more draft capital.

Gainwell is the perfect combination of talent and cost. Gainwell should be on the board on day two, and that is a much better time to spend a pick on a running back. This brings down the cost, and it also saves the Bucs from spending a priority pick on a replaceable position.

Gainwell could gain sufficient traction leading up to the draft as the next in line of great Memphis running backs, and the Buccaneers need to make this pick happen if available.

By spending a second or third-round pick on Gainwell, the Buccaneers would add an accomplished third-down option for Tom Brady that can play various roles across the offense.

Don’t draft early; draft smart. Take Gainwell as an option to follow James White as a new-age running back and use the priority picks on positions of greater need.