New Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales has a strong background in the passing game. He was a wide receiver at Azusa Pacific in college and has spent 13 years with the Seahawks as Seattle’s wide receivers coach, quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator.

But Canales has also seen the Seahawks run the ball incredibly well over the years. There have been seasons when Seattle has ranked in the top 5 in rushing yards, and years like 2022 when the team hasn’t been as productive on the ground despite rookie Kenneth Walker rushing for just over 1,000 yards.

New Bucs OC Dave Canales – Photo by: Seahawks

Yet, no matter the yards gained or the the number of attempts, what has stood out about Seattle’s rushing attack is the team’s efficiency.

From 2018-22, the Seahawks ranked second, third, 17th, 27th and 22nd in the league in rushing attempts. In those five years, they ranked first in rushing (2,560 yards in 2018), fourth in rushing (2,200 yards in 2019), 12th in rushing (1,971 yards in 2020), 11th in rushing (2,074 yards in 2021) and 18th in rushing (2,042 yards in 2022).

But Seattle always ranked in the Top 10 in yards per carry, regardless of how many attempts or how many yards the team rushed for. The Seahawks averaged 4.8 yards per carry in 2018 (fifth), 4.6 yards per carry in 2019 (10th), 4.8 yards per carry in 2020 (sixth), 5.0 yards per carry in 2021 (third) and 4.8 yards per carry in 2022 (seventh).

No matter how many times the Seahawks ran the ball over the past five years, they averaged a healthy 4.8 yards.

Dave Canales Plans To Fix Bucs Running Game

Bucs RB Leonard Fournette – Photo by: USA Today

Outside of Tampa Bay’s postseason in the team’s Super Bowl run in 2020, the Bucs struggled to run the ball since Bruce Arians’ arrival in 2019. The Bucs’ ground game bottomed out last year in Todd Bowles’ first season as head coach. Tampa Bay had the league’s worst-ranked rushing attack, averaging just 75.6 yards per game.

“Attack” is probably the wrong word to describe the Bucs’ feeble running game, which averaged a paltry 3.4 yards per carry. And this is after Bowles had offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich emphasize the ground game in training camp and spend extra time working on it.

With the Bucs expected to release Leonard Fournette in a cap-cutting move this offseason, Dave Canales will build his rushing attack around second-year back Rachaad White, with Ke’Shawn Vaughn likely stepping in the No. 2 role in as he enters a contract year. Veteran Giovani Bernard is slated for free agency and is unlikely to return.

Because the team is cap-strapped in 2023, look for the Bucs to draft another running back to play on a cheaper rookie deal. The 2023 NFL Draft is flush at the running back position, and Tampa Bay could find a very capable player on Day 3 to team with White and Vaughn.

Bowles wants a more balanced attack and a more successful run game in 2023. Canales will bring a pass-first approach, but he will do a far better job of marrying in the ground game to produce a more efficient yards per carry average.

Perhaps the Bucs will finally have a “rushing attack” after all with Canales calling the plays in 2023.