TAMPA, Fla. — With a lot consideration on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ quarterback battle between Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask and a few of the early highlights from the huge receivers, the working backs have slid beneath the radar. However working the ball will play a a lot larger position in coordinator Dave Canales’ offense in 2023. There was a renewed dedication to a extra balanced run-pass offense, which ought to assist this group rise from the league’s worst dashing assault.
So far as what number of of those gamers will stick round when it’s time to make ultimate cuts — they’ve stored 4 working backs on their preliminary 53-man roster the final two years and in 2020 and 2019, they went with three. When it comes to divvying up carries — final 12 months Leonard Fournette and Rachaad White had a 55.1% to 37.8% cut up on complete variety of rushes and a 56.6% and 36.2% cut up on receptions, however that was as a result of White overtook Fournette, who’s now gone, for the beginning position. This 12 months, White ought to get roughly 66-70% of the touches as he’s at the moment RB1.
Rachaad White
White loved a breakout recreation in Week 10 final season, turned a starter, and hasn’t appeared again. Whereas he can play in various offensive schemes, the transfer to a large zone scheme carefully mimics what he performed in at Arizona State — a scheme that requires cutback skill, endurance and imaginative and prescient to establish and explode by way of the opening.
White rushed for 481 yards on 129 carries, averaging 3.7 yards per rush with a struggling offensive line final 12 months. He can take a step ahead there, in addition to ball safety, as White had two fumbles through the common season. Skip Peete, the Bucs working backs coach, may also help in that division as his Dallas Cowboys working backs had zero fumbles final season.
“He’s simply so pure,” Canales mentioned of White. “Every little thing he does, the run recreation, the cross recreation, cross safety and routes. He’s actually a pure with each fingers catching the ball. I feel he’s going to be implausible. My half, and our half as a employees, is simply ensuring that we’re in a position to reap the benefits of all that ability set that he brings.”
The Bucs’ present No. 2 again is extra regular than flashy, having run a 4.51 on the NFL mix, and hasn’t gotten an entire lot of alternatives in his first three years taking part in behind Fournette, White and Ronald Jones. He is had 79 complete rushes in 19 video games, averaging 4.3 yards per carry. Whoever will get this backup position might get roughly 23-25% of the touches, which is how Canales’ outdated group, the Seattle Seahawks cut up issues up between Rashaad Penny and Kenneth Walker III after they have been each wholesome.
Whereas Vaughn is a one-cut runner which will profit from the transfer to the zone scheme, might there be a situation the place a man like Sean Tucker overtakes him as RB2 with a powerful preseason due to his monitor velocity? Chase Edmonds’ receiving skill might additionally play an element, though they’re giving Vaughn extra alternatives as a receiver than earlier than.
“The cool half about [Vaughn] is that he has sufficient expertise proper now the place any run kind you give him, he actually is aware of what it’s designed to do,” Canales mentioned. “He has endurance on those the place he must be affected person. He hits it quick on those the place he must. He’s thrilling.”
Chase Edmonds
Edmonds is their third-down working again. Coach Todd Bowles known as him a “jack of all trades” in that he can he can run, catch, cross block and play particular groups and he mentioned Edmonds “understands the sport fully.” He’s received a 78.9% cross block win price since 2018 and has given up 5.0 complete sacks in line with ESPN Statistics and Info.
“I coached towards him and actually simply watched him play for a bunch of years whereas he was there,” Canales mentioned. “He’s lightning in a bottle. He’s shot out of a cannon. He can do as a lot as numerous our slot receivers can too, so he’s a extremely harmful asset for us.”
Edmonds has bounced across the league since his days at Fordham — together with stints with the Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos final 12 months — and his manufacturing has been modest. He admitted that the two-year, $12 million deal he signed in Miami took a few of the edge off of him, however in Tampa, he signed a one-year, veteran minimal deal value $1.08 million.
Sean Tucker
In three seasons at Syracuse, Tucker rushed for 3,182 yards on 589 carries, averaging 5.4 yards per carry with 27 dashing touchdowns. He additionally had 622 receiving yards and 4 receiving touchdowns, main ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper to declare him his “favourite working again” within the 2023 draft class.
Tucker missed rookie camp and obligatory minicamp as a consequence of a coronary heart situation that was detected on the NFL mix which triggered him to go undrafted. Previous to that, he mentioned he was working the 40-yard sprint within the 4.3-4.4 vary.
“He has one other gear,” Canales mentioned. “He’s most likely the quickest man we have now within the room. He actually has some suddenness to him.”
His faculty tape exhibits he has actually good imaginative and prescient and a eager understanding of what’s taking place on the second degree, on prime of his skill to make one lower and explode, which makes Canales’ scheme a spot he can thrive.
“It provides us choices, having extra subject — particularly for me — having extra subject to run and having area,” Tucker mentioned on the scheme. “That creates alternatives, and for a working again that is undoubtedly one thing that you really want.”
A former walk-on at Cal, Laird went on to hurry for 1,127 yards on 961 carries in two seasons as a starter. He signed with the Dolphins as an undrafted free agent and performed in 37 video games there from 2019-21 earlier than spending the 2022 season on the Bucs’ follow squad.
Peete was notably complimentary of Laird’s run abilities, stability, cross safety and particular groups skill.
“Patrick Laird does every part proper,” Canales mentioned. “He’s the man who’s tapping me on the shoulder like, ‘Hey, within the spring we had this route on this idea, is that what you need? The drawing was this.’ Like, ‘Sure, that’s proper.’ So, he’s on prime of all that.”
Ronnie Brown Jr.
The 6-foot, 190-pound rookie is at the moment the sixth working again in line, signing with the Bucs as an undrafted free agent out of Shepard. In 4 seasons with the Division II college, he had 3,041 dashing yards, 1,158 receiving yards and 41 touchdowns in 4 seasons, main the Rams to back-to-back division titles.
He has extra of an upright working model, but additionally a pleasant imaginative and prescient and may be very elusive. In fact, the leap in competitors would be the large query he’ll need to reply on the subsequent degree. It’s unlikely he’ll be making as many defenders miss as he did in his faculty spotlight reel, which caught Canales’ eye. Anticipate to see numerous him within the preseason.
“He had numerous carries at Shepard. … He has persona too. He brings numerous good juice to the room,” Canales mentioned.
