In the NFL, the role of the running back position has certainly changed over the years. Previously, teams relied on one running back to be the bell cow at that position and take the majority of the snaps to lead a team. In recent years, many offenses have found success by attacking opponents with two different running backs. So, what exactly do the Bucs have with a duo of Rachaad White and Bucky Irving?

Bucs RB Rachaad White – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

It’s true that running backs have become more expendable in today’s league, but they still have an important role. White is heading into his third season with the Bucs. It’s only his second season as the starter and with new offensive coordinator Liam Coen calling everything, we don’t know just yet how much the rotation will be defined.

Bucs’ Roles For Their RBs

White has been somewhat of an old school running back in how much he’s done for Tampa Bay’s offense. He was more of a weapon as a receiver than he was necessarily as a runner, but he still got the bulk of rushing attempts and production because the Bucs didn’t have top-level depth behind him.

Entering this year, Tampa Bay addressed that by drafting running back Bucky Irving in the fourth round. Irving will have to earn it, but the odds are that he’ll end up as the second-string running back ahead of Chase Edmonds and Sean Tucker, along with undrafted free agent Ramon Jefferson, who played for Coen at Kentucky.

Irving is a different kind of back than White, and that’s a good thing for the offense. He may be smaller, but Irving has a great burst of speed and is very difficult to knock off of his feet. He commits to hitting the hole right away, which will be seen more once the pads come on.

White Details What He’s Seen From Bucky Irving

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

So, what would be the best way to utilize these running backs? This probably can’t be answered until a couple games into the regular season when there’s more of an established pattern. But it’s worth wondering how these players will operate as a group in the running back room. White gave his initial impressions of Irving after Tuesday’s mini-camp practice and gave his take on how he believes they should be used on offense.

“Bucky does a great job of, first thing, competing, and two, learning,” White said of his rookie teammate. “They’re (the running backs) all brilliant and they all want to understand the game more, and things like that. We talk a lot. We’ve got a good relationship. It’s huge. I think he brings a playmaker [ability] and in this offense, the more playmakers, the better. It’ll be huge. The one-two punch would be nice.”

Rachaad White Comments On Bucs’ O-Line

The name of the game for White and the offense is to get their running game back in shape and improved from over the last two seasons. White has a big responsibility on that, but it’s on the offensive line, too. The third-year back shared his opinion on what he’s seen from the offensive line so far, although it’s at a time on the schedule when they’re limited in what they can do, as training camp is the first time they can put the pads on and engage in live contact.

“The biggest thing I’ve seen from them is just [them] learning,” White said. “They want to learn, they’re eager. They compete [when] they come in. They don’t have a young mindset. They compete. The older guys do a great job – our older linemen do a great job of coaching them up and teaching them the best they can and passing the game forward. That’s the biggest thing you want to see out of them. They compete, they’re young ‘dawgs,’ and they’re hungry.”

Time will tell whether Tampa Bay can finally lift its run game out of the league’s basement, where it’s been for the last two seasons. But the team will hope to put it all together with the 1-2 punch of White and Irving, as well as an improved offensive line, in 2024.