Pewter Report analyzes each position’s strengths and weaknesses in Tampa Bay, as the Bucs attempt to three-peat as NFC South champions.

Next up is the running back position, which will head into the 2023 campaign with Rachaad White as the leader of a young stable of running backs. Despite limited playing time, White was impressive as a rookie, totaling 481 yards rushing with one touchdown and leading the Bucs with a 3.7 avg. White also hauled in 50 catches for 290 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner against the Saints.

The Bucs had the league’s worst rushing attack in 2022, averaging just 75 yards per game. New offensive coordinator Dave Canales brings a more balanced attack from Seattle and is committed to running the ball in 2023.

The Strength of Bucs RBs: Youth

The Bucs parted ways with Leonard Fournette this offseason for two big reasons. The first of which was to save some precious salary cap space. The second was because of ineffectiveness, as he rushed for less than 700 yards in 2022. Fournette, who turns 28 this year, looked sluggish and slow last season, and running backs tend to lose a step as they approach 30 due to the constant pounding they take.

Bucs RB Rachaad White Photo By: USA Today

Tampa Bay has turned the starting job over to 24-year old Rachaad White, last year’s third-round pick. White is a slippery runner with good vision through the hole and excellent receiving ability. His skillset is a perfect fit for the Bucs’ new mid-zone and wide-zone running schemes and White has a maturity seldom found in second-year NFL players.

Ke’Shawn Vaughn is 26 and entering a contract year in Tampa Bay. The team’s third-round pick in 2020 has been rarely used and has been buried on the depth chart behind veteran running backs like Fournette and Giovani Bernard, who was not re-signed and retired this offseason. Vaughn has made strides this offseason and has fresh legs. He’s competing for the right to be White’s backup.

Newly signed Chase Edmonds is a slashing runner who should be a great scheme fit in Tampa Bay. Although he’s 27, he has less than 550 touches over the last five years in the league, so there is still plenty of mileage left on his tires. The most experienced runner in the Bucs stable, Edmonds, who signed a one-year, prove-it deal, will compete with Vaughn to be the No. 2 back.

Patrick Laird, 27, is competing for the final spot on the depth chart with undrafted free agents Ronnie Brown, 23, and Sean Tucker, 21. Laird and Brown seem more like practice squad candidates, as both catch the ball better than they run it.

Tucker is the real wild card, as he missed the offseason due to heart condition that was detected at the NFL Scouting Combine. He’s expected to be medically cleared by or during training camp. Labeled as “an angry runner,” Tucker is a very good scheme fit with the talent to ascend up the depth chart quickly once he learns the offense through practice.

Best-Case Scenario at RB

White emerges as a 1,000-yard feature back, and either Vaughn, Edmonds or Tucker rises up to be a worthy backup to provide the Bucs with a 1-2 punch in the backfield.

The Weaknesses of Bucs RBs: Inexperience

Bucs RB Chase Edmonds – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

While having a stable of young runners with fresh legs works to the Bucs’ advantage, the flip side of youth is the inexperience that comes with it. White is being asked to start and shoulder a heavier workload without proving that he can really do it. He was just a part-time starter last year as a rookie, and he only has one game with more than 20 carries, and five games with more than 10.

Edmonds has the most experience of the bunch, but only has 18 starts out of the 70 NFL games he’s played in. Laird has just four starts, while Vaughn only has two NFL starts, including one in the Bucs’ playoff win over the Eagles in 2021.

Inexperienced runners often struggle with fumbles, dropped passes and missed assignments in pass protection, which can lead to QB hits and sacks. For example, White had three fumbles and two drops last season as a rookie.

Worst-Case Scenario at RB

White falters as a starter or gets injured, leaving the Bucs’ inexperienced running back stable short on talent in 2023, as Tampa Bay’s ground game continues to struggle.