The Tampa Bay Buccaneers haven’t been able to run the ball in recent years. There’s not a nice way to say they’ve been bad in that aspect of the game — 82.9 rushing yards per game over the last two seasons is the worst in the NFL.
And guess what? They just keep winning. Three straight NFC South Division titles.
So, what will happen if they can fix the running attack? We might find out sooner than later if the combination of veteran Rachaad White and rookie Bucky Irving works in 2024.
The Real Bucs Talk Podcast discussed the upside potential of that pairing on May 17.
“Irving brings serious big playmaking ability to the (Buccaneers) run attack,” Real Bucs Talk said. “He will also pair nicely with incumbent starter Rachaad White. Look for a huge improvement in the run attack with these two.”
White showed he was one of the NFL’s best young running backs when it comes to running and catching the ball in 2023 — something Irving was known for in college.
Irving’s Size, 40-Yard Dash Time Caused Dip in Draft
Despite being one of college football’s most productive running backs the last two seasons, Irving’s draft stock took a dip over what will probably seem like minutiae in a few years — that he’s only 5-foot-9 and 192 pounds and that he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.55 seconds at the NFL combine in February.
The Buccaneers ended up getting Irving in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL draft (No. 125 overall).
“We thought he might go a little bit earlier,” Tampa Bay Director of Player Personnel Mike Biehl after the Buccaneers selected Irving. “He’s a guy we brought in on a ‘Top 30’ visit and spent some time with him. We thought maybe he would be a second-day pick, but he falls to the third day. I think even talking to him, when Jason called him, he had a little bit of a chip on his shoulder, thinking he should have gone earlier. We kind of like that. He’s just another right kind of character guy that we’ve been targeting. He fits that mold.”
Irving spent his freshman season at Minnesota, where he had 772 yards of total offense and 4 touchdowns in 2021 before transferring to Oregon for his final two seasons. Irving had 1,357 yards of total offense and 8 touchdowns in 2022.
In 2023, he had 1,593 yards of total offense and 13 touchdowns and was named All-Pac-12.
When White is Locked in, Buccaneers Thrive
When White was at his best in 2023, so were the Buccaneers. And vice versa.
During a mid-season swoon in which Tampa Bay lost 6 of 7 games, White had under 40 rushing yards five times and under 30 yards receiving three times and only scored 1 touchdown.
When the Buccaneers turned things on at the end of the season 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.
White finished 2023 with 1,539 all-purpose yards — 990 rushing and 549 receiving — and 9 touchdowns. He also averaged 3.6 yards per carry.
“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 on April 15. “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.
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Buccaneers Could Have Dynamic Duo at Running Back