Round 3: USF RB Marlon Mack – 5-11, 213 – 4.50 – Junior
Previous Pick: Toledo RB Kareem Hunt
As good as Hunt is, his 4.62 time in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine was startlingly slow. That’s not to say that he won’t be a good player in the NFL. Hunt was extremely productive at Toledo a school record with 4,945 yards and 44 touchdowns 782 carries in his Toledo career and didn’t average less than 5.5 yards per carry in any season.

But the Bucs are looking to become more explosive on offense and need a running back with the speed capable of taking any handoff to the end zone. Tampa Bay only had four running plays of over 20 yards last year – three by Jacquizz Rodgers, who was just re-signed to a two-year deal, and one by Payton Barber. The Bucs did not have a run longer than 45 yards, either.

The selection of Mack, a Florida native who went to the University of South Florida in Tampa, brings speed to the Bucs’ backfield. His 4.5 time in the 40-yard dash in Indianapolis matched that of Florida State’s Dalvin Cook, and was one tenth’s of a second faster than LSU’s Leonard Fournette – both of whom are first-round running backs in this year’s draft.

Mack left USF as the school’s all-time leading rusher as a junior with 3,609 yards and 32 touchdowns on 586 carries (6.2 avg.), in addition to catching 65 passes for 498 yards (7.7 avg.) and one touchdown. Six of his 15 touchdowns as a junior went for 40 yards or more.

Mack’s USF Career Rushing Stats
2016: 174 carries for 1,187 yards (6.8 avg.) with 15 TDs and a long of 75 yards
2015: 210 carries for 1,381 yards (6.6 avg.) with 8 TDs and a long of 55 yards
2014: 202 carries for 1,041 yards (5.2 avg.) with 9 TDs and a long of 89 yards

Mack’s USF Career Receiving Stats
2016: 28 catches for 227 yards (8.1 avg.) with 0 TD and a long of 37 yards
2015: 16 catches for 111 yards (6.1 avg.) with 1 TDs and a long of 20 yards
2014: 21 catches for 160 yards (7.6avg.) with 0 TDs and a long of 19 yards

Mack had 20 100-yard games, including two 200-yard performances, most recently against Temple in 2015 when he carried the ball 20 times for 230 yards (11.0 avg.) with two touchdowns and caught three passes for 42 yards and another score in a 44-23 win.

“He’s a phenomenal athlete,” Mack’s high school coach Johnnie Jones told the Tampa Bay Times, “He could’ve played safety and become an All-American safety.”

Mack told PewterReport.com that he has met “a lot” with the Buccaneers, who will host him on a pre-draft visit and attend his pro day at the USF campus. While he ran a lot of stretch plays to the outside at USF, getting to the corner and breaking off big runs, he doesn’t have as much experience running between the tackles as the Bucs would like. But just because Mack hasn’t done it often doesn’t mean he can’t do it.

At 5-foot-11, 213 pounds Mack has the size to be a workhorse back in the NFL, but only had 10 games with 20 carries or more and just one with more than 30 carries. With improving hands, Mack could be a rotational back early in his career much like Charles Sims was last year in Tampa Bay, and could develop into a starting caliber running back after a season of splitting carries with Rodgers.

One thing Mack needs to improve is his penchant for fumbling. He put the ball on the ground 12 times during his career at USF, an average of four per year. That’s something Bucs running backs coach Tim Spencer can work with him on, but Spencer can’t coach speed and homerun hitting ability – and that’s what Mack has.

Click below to view Tampa Bay’s fourth-round pick in 2017.