Tampa Bay had the league’s top passing game last year with quarterback Jameis Winston throwing for over 5,000 yards, which was a first in Bucs history. The team’s aerial attack could be even better in 2020 with Tom Brady at the helm.

However, the focus for the Bucs offensive line in camp has less to do with getting the job done through the air, but being more efficient on the ground instead.

Tampa Bay’s running game was not up to par last season, ranking 24th in the league while averaging 95.1 yards per game. In fact, the last time the Bucs had a running back eclipse 1,000 yards was in Doug Martin in 2015.

This year the Bucs have a clear-cut starter in Ronald Jones II, and the offensive line is motivated to establish the run and have a more balanced offense as a result.

“Absolutely – the run game has been an emphasis,” said starting left guard Ali Marpet. “I think that the coaches know it wasn’t up to where it needed to be. We, as an offensive line – tight ends, running back room, we all know that the expectations for us is so much higher than how we performed last year. So I think you will see improvement this year.”

Part of improving the running game comes from the personal strides that Jones has taken to get better in his third year. Jones put on seven to eight pounds of muscle this offseason in order to carry the load as the starter at 225 pounds, along with working to correct some of his flaws in the passing game. Jones is also listening to the advice that he is getting from veterans like newcomer LeSean McCoy and others.

“I think he has done a nice job of owning some of his stuff,” Marpet said of Jones. “Just learning from Brady, Shady and some other running backs. He’s done a nice job of getting better this year at a lot of facets of his game. He’s really improving.”

Jones, who has just one 100-yard rushing game in his two years in the NFL, has ripped off several big runs in training camp, and has been one of the bright spots this August.

One thing that will help improve Tampa Bay’s ground game this year is that the Bucs have almost all of the offensive line starters back together this season. First-round pick Tristan Wirfs is the lone newcomer, replacing Demar Dotson at right tackle.

Tampa Bay has three established veterans with Ryan Jensen at center, Marpet at left guard and Donovan Smith at left tackle, while Alex Cappa goes into his second year as the starting right guard. Now it’s up to Wirfs to quickly get up to speed without the benefit of a preseason, but the Iowa product was known for his run-blocking prowess in college.

“I think it’s huge,” Marpet said of the Bucs’ continuity up front. “I think the fact that we’ve been out there every day together just figuring things out and communicating has been awesome. The fact that we get to go against a really competitive defensive front makes it that much better and Tristan’s doing a phenomenal job fitting in and doing what he needs to do, so it really does feel good.”

If Wirfs can quickly assimilate himself to playing at an NFL level, the Bucs’ offensive line should help propel Jones and the team’s running game to new heights in 2020, and provide the much-needed balance to Brady’s play-action passing game.