Buccaneers need to call offensive player to support strategy

If this preseason and Todd Bowles are any indication, the Buccaneers are going to run the football more in 2022. They can’t ever say no to help.

We have seen the Buccaneers run head-first into a brick wall for the past two games.

The offense hasn’t looked flashy, the results haven’t looked great, but should we be surprised?

The modern NFL is based on the pass. There are too many aspects of that side of the sport that make it a no-brainer as a focal point for any team that actually wants to win.

If you disagree, you aren’t paying attention to the stark difference between the good teams and the great ones. The 49ers, Patriots, Ravens, and the Titans are good teams. However, their inability to move the ball effectively through the air is going to cap them there.

There is a reason why the great teams and Super Bowl winners are led by the best quarterbacks in the league and they actually air the ball out.

With all of that being said, Todd Bowles has made it clear that his team is going to run the ball more. Our hopes aren’t especially high that this will take the best offense in the NFL and take it to new heights, but here we are.

The Bucs have Leonard Fournette in the lead role, who is great, but everyone after him is a question mark.

Giovani Bernard can’t stay healthy, Ke’Shawn Vaughn is a wild card, and while Rachaad White looks like an immediate fit, betting on a Buccaneer rookie at the position is a dangerous prospect given the recent history in Tampa.

Even if you want to count White as a lock, which we might, him and Fournette aren’t enough to carry a heavier load than last year.

The Bucs need more help, and the recent loss of Aaron Stinnie and the potential to carry eight offensive linemen on the 53-man roster could open up a spot for another running back.

The Bucs did cycle through all of their backs last year, so it does make some sense to go with five if there is a can’t-miss option.

Kenyan Drake is about to become the best free agent on the market sooner rather than later. The Bucs should enquire.

The most recent taste of Drake was rather sour. The Raiders didn’t need to pay Drake given their prior running back room, but it seems like Jon Gruden just wanted to prove again how incompetent he actually was in his role.

The stats weren’t there, but Drake has nearly two years to prove the type of player he was in Arizona, and that guy is one that can help the Buccaneers.

From good hands to above-average production between the tackles, Drake would be an excellent pairing with Fournette and White.

The other good news for the Buccaneers is that Kenyan Drake already has some money coming his way, so it makes sense that he would take near the minimum to bolster Tampa’s running back room.

Even if it comes down to Vaughn versus Drake, the choice should be easy for a team that is making it clear that it cares about this side of the ball more than it did in the past.

The Bucs need to at least reach out.

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