Bucs’ Best Bets: Running Back

Bucs’ Best Bet – Rounds 1-3: LSU RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire

The Buccaneers like Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor, who appeared in PewterReport.com’s 2020 Bucs’ 7-Round Mock Draft 3.0 as the team’s first-round pick, but it doesn’t seem like the team would pick him at No. 14, and it’s doubtful he’ll be around in the second round with the 45th overall pick. If the Bucs want to pick a running back in the second round, the one player who could still be there when the team is on the clock is Edwards-Helaire, who only had one year as a feature back, which was his junior season. Edwards-Helaire led the SEC in rushing last year with 1,414 yards and 16 touchdowns, while averaging 6.6 yards per carry after posting just 658 yards and seven TDs with a 4.5 average as a sophomore the previous season.

Aside from just one real season’s worth of premium production, Edwards-Helaire lacks ideal size at 5-foot-7, 207 pounds, and didn’t wow anyone with a 4.6 time in the 40-yard dash. But what appeals to Tampa Bay are his elusiveness, tackle-breaking ability and receiving skills. Edwards-Helaire caught 69 passes for 595 yards (8.6 avg.) and one score, including 55 receptions for 453 yards and that TD last year. Edwards-Helaire nearly beat Alabama single-handedly with 103 yards rushing and three TDs on the ground, in addition to catching nine passes for 77 yards and one receiving score. Edwards-Helaire, who had a formal interview with the Bucs at the NFL Scouting Combine, would be a terrific complement to Ronald Jones II in Tampa Bay. – Scott Reynolds

Bucs’ Best Bet – Rounds 4-7: Florida State RB Cam Akers

Akers is a very talented runner between the tackles and can also make the most of his opportunities in space. Akers ran behind one of the worst offensive lines in college football for the past three years, which hindered his production, but also pleased NFL scouts given the circumstances. He only had two 1,000-yard seasons at Florida State and averaged just 4.9 yards per carry, which isn’t terribly impressive. Akers is an urgent, decisive north-south runner with tremendous balance. There isn’t much hesitation to his game, and he picked up a lot of yards after deploying a wicked stiff arm.

Akers, who had a formal interview with Tampa Bay at the NFL Scouting Combine, has good size at 5-foot-10, 217 pounds and ran a solid 4.47 time in the 40-yard dash. Akers’ Combine performance and his receiving skills make him an intriguing prospect. Akers totaled 69 receptions for 486 yards and seven touchdowns in three years at Florida State, and also took snaps as a wildcat QB for the Seminoles. He totaled 27 touchdowns on the ground, including 14 as a junior. There is a chance that Akers could go higher in the draft – perhaps in the lower half of the second round or the upper part of the third round, but with his pedestrian production he could slide into the fourth round where he would be a steal for Tampa Bay. The Bucs might also consider taking him in the third round if they haven’t addressed the running back position in the second round. – Scott Reynolds