A new Pewter Report Roundtable debuts every Tuesday during the Bucs’ regular season. Each week, the Pewter Reporters tackle another tough question. This week’s prompt: Who is to blame for the Bucs’ run game woes?

A year after ranking dead last in the NFL in rushing with 75.6 yards per game, Tampa Bay ranks 29th, averaging 78.8 rushing yards per game.

Scott Reynolds: Jason Licht Has Struggled To Find A Good RB

I have sung Jason Licht’s praises over the years as a team builder. Licht is no doubt one of the best general managers in the league, having taken a 2-14 Bucs team in 2014, which was his first year as general manager, and constructed a roster that culminated in a Super Bowl championship in 2020. Licht has drafted nine players that wound up making the Pro Bowl in Tampa Bay during his tenure, as well as signing two of the best free agents in team history in future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady and pass rusher Shaq Barrett, who became a two-time Pro Bowler.

Bucs GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Two of his best trades were for Pro Bowl edge rusher Jason Pierre-Paul and future Hall of Fame tight end Rob Gronkowski, who also helped the Bucs win Super Bowl LV. But if Licht has a weakness or a shortcoming in personnel, it’s at the running back position. Running backs have proven to be Licht’s kyrptonite.

Licht re-signed Doug Martin after the 2015 season, which he almost had to do for new head coach Dirk Koetter, coming off a 1,400-yard Pro Bowl season. But Martin’s career was unraveling at that point behind the scenes and his personal problems took over the following season. The Bucs G.M. was caught between a rock and a hard place with the Martin signing, but didn’t have an insurance policy through the draft.

Over the years Licht’s draft picks at the running back position – Charles Sims, Ronald Jones II, Jeremy McNichols and Ke’Shawn Vaughn – have been largely disappointing. The jury is still out on Rachaad White, but he doesn’t look special so far. Signing Leonard Fournette was good for a season or two, but he proved last year he’s not a long-term answer. The Bucs’ running back room appears to lack sufficient talent this year, and that’s on Licht. There’s no Mike Alstott, no Warrick – heck, not even an Errict Rhett to be found.

Free agent signing Chase Edmonds has the most speed and wiggle on the current roster, but he’s always hurt and is on I.R. right now. Undrafted free agent Sean Tucker might be more hype than anything, and is buried on the depth chart.

If Tampa Bay’s offensive line could open up massive holes the Bucs wouldn’t need a super-talented back to gain yards. But that’s not the case and the Bucs don’t have a back that can create yards on his own with either speed or tackle-breaking ability. And that’s on Licht and his personnel department for not better equipping a team that wants to run the ball more this year with more capable backs.

Matt Matera: Bucs Interior Offensive Line Needs To Pick It Up

How much blame can you put on the running backs when they’re getting hit behind the line of scrimmage play after play? The fact of the matter is that the Bucs can’t get a running game going because it’s too often dead on arrival. How many times have we seen a run up the middle go for no gain? Offensive coordinator Dave Canales said he’s going to be stubborn running the football, but that stubbornness has led to the 29th-ranked rushing attack in the league so far.

Bucs C Robert Hainsey and the O-line – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

A team is only as strong as its weakest link, and for the Bucs, that’s center Robert Hainsey. To be fair, Hainsey is commended by his teammates for being the roots that makes up the tree that is the offensive line. His value lies on his communication ability – making all the calls to put everyone else in the right position. Both Luke Goedeke and Cody Mauch have praised him for that.

But it’s become glaring how difficult it is for Tampa Bay to run in between the guards and center. That starts with Hainsey. The Bucs didn’t plan for Hainsey to start for a second season in a row, but that’s how it played out after Ryan Jensen was ruled out for the year with a knee injury he might not truly recover from.

The Bucs have found success running to the outside because of the job well done by tackles Goedeke and Tristan Wirfs. When Tampa Bay has bounce it to the outside, they’re gaining yards. The problem is the Bucs can’t just pitch it outside every single time.

Running inside is a different story. Running back Rachaad White is 25th in the league in yards before contact with 232 yards. He hasn’t been able to just head up the field and rip off a big run because of the Bucs’ poor blocking from the interior offensive line. It doesn’t come as much of a surprise either when backup running backs Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Sean Tucker average 1.7 and 1.5 yards per attempt, respectively. Canales has shown that he’s not going to stop running the football, so the offensive line needs to figure it out or else they won’t be very productive for the remainder of the season.

Bailey Adams: Plenty Of Blame To Go Around, But It Starts At The Top

Bucs GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

When it comes to the blame for the Bucs’ awful run game, I wanted to lean toward splitting it between the offensive line (namely the interior) and the backfield itself. The lanes haven’t been there often enough and when they’re there, Rachaad White and the rest of the group aren’t hitting them hard enough or fast enough.

But where I think I’ll really place the blame here is on Bucs general manager Jason Licht and the rest of his staff. I really respect Licht, and think he’s done a great job building this Tampa Bay roster over the years, but the running back position has simply been his weakness.

Previous draft picks never panned out — save for maybe Ronald Jones II during the Bucs’ Super Bowl LV season, but even that was just one year. And while it’s too early to say Rachaad White isn’t going to work out at all, early returns on him as RB1 aren’t good.

I don’t fault Licht for drafting White, as I think the second-year back could be a contributor to this running back room. But the fact that Licht and Co. banked so much on White being a top-end RB1 and didn’t build out the rest of the room enough is where the blame comes into play.

I was all for Tampa Bay giving White a shot at getting the bulk of the carries after he showed some flashes during his rookie season. But I was also high on quite a few running backs in the 2023 NFL Draft. The team passed on all of them and only added a rookie to the room when Sean Tucker went undrafted due to a heart condition.

The Bucs went all in on White as RB1 and now that he’s struggled, they have no one they can fall back on to try to get the run game going. Chase Edmonds is hurt, Ke’Shawn Vaughn has never been effective and Tucker has yet to translate what made him so electric in college to the NFL. The room as a whole has no viable depth behind its struggling starter, and that’s on Licht and the rest of the Bucs’ brass.

Josh Queipo: Bucs’ Tight Ends – Not Just The O-Line – Hamper The Run Game

The biggest culprits in the Bucs run game woes are their young tight ends. Cade Otton doesn’t just lose blocks on the regular. He loses BADLY. And often his losses don’t just prevent a run from going for 4-6 yards. His losses will often turn a minimal gain into a loss.

Otton was a decent move blocker his rookie year, but that has regressed in 2023. This year he is getting blown up by linebackers when trying to pull and seal on counters. Beyond that, Otton has had multiple missed blocking assignments on the season to compound his issues.

Meanwhile Ko Kieft has been an average blocker, and nothing special. Where he is hurting the team is just by his mere presence on the field. With over 63% of his snaps being run plays the defense can key into run defense when he is on the field. His lack of versatility keys up the defense to load the box and makes running more difficult.

Perhaps using fifth-round pick Payne Durham more is the answer. Durham saw his first NFL action on Sunday and recorded his first reception, too. Unlike Kieft, Durham has some value as a tight end that can both catch and run due to his background at Purdue where he hauled in 21 touchdowns in four seasons. His presence instead of Kieft’s on the field would make the offense less predictable.

Adam Slivon: Bucs Running Backs Deserve The Blame

Shortly after the Bucs loss to the Lions, I wrote how red flags have popped up in the team’s run game. These concerns are nothing new for Tampa Bay, and the problem it is not as straightforward as one may think. If I had to pinpoint who is most to blame, however, it ultimately falls down to the running backs.

Bucs RB Rachaad White – Photo by USA Today

Over the first few weeks of the season, one could chalk up the lack of success to a new run scheme or the offensive line still building chemistry. But heading into Week 7, it shouldn’t be as bad as it has looked so far. The Bucs have formed one of the better tackle duos in the league in Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke, and the interior offensive line has opened up enough holes.

Problem is, Rachaad White, Ke’Shawn Vaughn, and Sean Tucker just haven’t hit them.

They’ve shown hesitancy to accelerate and have displayed a lack of vision when there are gaps to exploit. The scheme and lineman can only do so much. A running back has to have the ability to get that little bit extra. To turn a 2-yard gain into a 4-yarder. To break a tackle or make a man miss. That just hasn’t happened.

With how things have gone so far, perhaps further blame should be extended. From the coaching staff to the general manager, none of Tampa Bay’s running backs looks to be difference-maker. That comes down to coaching them up or identifying it as a position of need earlier, which could have led to a more established outside acquisition.

If one were to point a finger, it comes down to who has toted the pigskin in the backfield. Until there is a big play by a Bucs running back that proves otherwise, they are what has been holding the team’s run game from having success.