By almost any metric, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won despite their running game in 2023. Not because of it.
The Buccaneers had the least amount of rushing yards (1,509) and lowest yards per carry (3.4) of any team in the NFL. Somehow they still went 9-8 and won a third consecutive NFC South Division title.
It’s a weakness the Buccaneers turned into a strength in the offseason, according to ESPN’s Jenna Laine, who now calls the running game Tampa Bay’s biggest strength.
“(Tampa Bay) invested a first-round draft pick in new starting center Graham Barton, a fourth-rounder in running back Bucky Irving and a sixth-rounder in guard Elijah Klein,” Laine wrote. “They also signed left guard Ben Bredeson in free agency and have a better understanding of the blocking scheme and how to attack the holes.”
A big-time contribution would probably be a welcome change for the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay hasn’t had a player go over 1,000 rushing yards in a single season since Doug Martin ran for 1,402 yards in 2016.
The Buccaneers have only had four seasons with a player over 1,000 rushing yards in the last 20 years — Carnell Williams (2005), LeGarrette Blount (2010) and Martin in 2012 and 2015.
Young Running Back Duo Leads Way For Bucs
PFF’s Trevor Sikkema ranked Tampa Bay’s running backs No. 20 out of 32 teams in their position group headed into the 2024 season. That’s nowhere near the top of the league but way ahead of where they finished last season … and with the potential to go higher.
“Rachaad White quietly generated the eighth-best PFF wins above average figure among running backs last season (0.16),” Sikkema wrote. “Though his yards per carry average was below 4.0 for the second year in a row, he amassed 900-plus rushing yards and 500-plus receiving yards as an all-purpose back. The Buccaneers drafted Bucky Irving in the fourth round, a player with a similar skill set. I am bullish on this young running back duo in 2024.”
White Came Close to Breakout Season in 2023
The Buccaneers drafted White in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft (No. 91 overall) out of Arizona State after he earned All-Pac-12 honors in 2021.
White finished 2023 with 1,539 all-purpose yards — 990 rushing and 549 receiving — and 9 touchdowns, which was a big leap from his 771 all-purpose yards and 3 touchdowns as a rookie.
“Right now, I’m not where I want to be in my career yards per carry-wise and things like that — just being an efficient running back,” White said when the Buccaneers opened offseason workouts on April 16. “I think, for me, that’s (what) the biggest next step is, ‘OK, he’s efficient.’ The efficient running backs over the (course) of time — like I said, I study the game a lot — they average at least 4.0-4.1 (yards per carry) and above.”
When the Buccaneers turned things on at the end of the 2023 and won 5 of 6 games to close out the regular season, White was as good as almost any running back in the NFL.
In that stretch, White had over 100 yards of total offense in three consecutive games — wins over the Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers — and scored touchdowns in back-to-back games for the only time in 2023.
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