The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may be looking at a new running back entering next season.
As proposed by CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson during his latest 2023 NFL mock draft, he projects the Buccaneers to select University of Texas running back Bijan Robinson with the 19th overall draft pick. Fournette has largely served as Tampa Bay’s starting running back since the end of the 2020 season, when they won the Super Bowl.
“The Bucs could target a QB here, but with questions about Anthony Richardson’s future and his uneven play this season, Tampa could look to fill other needs,” says Wilson. “RB isn’t a huge priority with Rachaad White’s emergence, but the team could move on from Fournette and plug in Robinson, who has been dominant for the Longhorns this season.”
Fournette’s Production Slipping in Third Season with Bucs
As Wilson notes. Rachaad White has slowly emerged as a go-to back for the Buccaneers, lowering Fournette’s value to the team. In fact, the rookie running back has started the last five games and has seen at least 39 percent of the snaps in each of the past five games.
Meanwhile, Fournette is still playing the majority of the snaps, but it’s much less than what it was earlier in the season. Over the past four games, Fournette is averaging 37 snaps per game. During his first nine games, Fournette averaged 50 snaps per game.
Fournette signed a three-year, $21 million deal during the offseason to remain with the Buccaneers. The 27-year-old back remains productive in his third season with the team, ranking third on the team with 59 receptions. However, he’s averaging just 3.6 yards per carry, a stark decline from the 4.5 yards per carry he averaged last season.
Why the Bucs Would Consider Drafting Robinson
Moving on from Fournette during the 2023 offseason would create a dead cap hit of just $5 million. Considering Fournette’s decline in production and White’s emergence, Tampa Bay could opt to select Robinson to create a committee backfield between the Longhorns running back and White.
The New Orleans Saints drafted offensive tackle Trevor Penning with the 19th overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft. He’s currently earning $14 million across four years, earning an average annual contract value of $3.5 million. In other words, the Bucs would be paying roughly half of what they’re paying Fournette for arguably the best running back entering the 2023 NFL draft.
During his junior campaign with the Longhorns, Robinson rushed for 1,580 yards and 18 touchdowns, in addition to posting 19 catches for 314 yards and two scores.
The highly-hyped running back is ranked No. 4 on Bleacher Report’s “Big Board.”
CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards went into detail just how elusive Robinson is.
“Robinson is an effective and efficient runner showing great burst and balance. He is able to slow his feet in traffic and re-direct at a moment’s notice,” said Edwards. “The third-year runner avoided 88 tackles last season, which was the fifth most, according to TruMedia. The Arizona native was a productive pass-catcher for the Longhorns in 2021 as well. The only obstacle standing between Robinson and hearing his name called in the first round of the NFL Draft is positional value. The 2022 NFL Draft was the first without a running back selected in the first round since 2014.”
If the Buccaneers want to save a little bit of money while preparing for the future, they could go a surprising route and select Robinson with their first-round draft pick.
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Buccaneers Could ‘Move On’ From $21 Million Star for ‘Dominant’ RB: Analyst