Following the retirement of quarterback Tom Brady, little was expected from the 2023 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Instead, they improved their record, going from 8-9 in 2022 to 9-8, and raised a third straight NFC South banner. Despite that, the Bucs offense hardly covered itself in glory, finishing 23rd in total yards, 20th in scoring, and dead last in rushing at a measly 88.8 yards per game — their 3.4 yards per carry was also the lowest figure in the NFL.
The club will have a new offensive coordinator after Dave Canales left to take the head coaching gig with the Carolina Panthers. In his stead, the Bucs hired Liam Coen, who sandwiched two years with the University of Kentucky as OC around a one-year stint in the same role for the Los Angeles Rams. He’s been primarily involved with the passing game in his career, including serving as quarterbacks and wide receivers coach in previous stops, but he’d still like to see improvement from the ground attack.
In terms of personnel, Tampa Bay brings back its top-two rushers from last year in running backs Rachaad White and Chase Edmonds, and they added Bucky Irving in the draft.
Rachaad White
After beginning his career behind RB Leonard Fournette, White started to see his usage tick up in the second half of his rookie year before taking over as the full-time lead back last season. The Bucs were not shy about getting him the football. His 272 carries tied for second in the NFL, and his 64 catches ranked fourth among running backs. There wasn’t much explosiveness from White, however, particularly on the ground — among the 30 players to log at least 180 carries, only two averaged fewer than his 3.6 yards per rush.
He was more efficient as a receiver, averaging a healthy 8.6 yards per reception, and his nine total touchdowns was a solid number as well. While it’s a relatively small sample size, thus far White has shown himself to be extremely durable, playing in all 37 games (including the playoffs) during his two years the league while shouldering a heavy workload. The question the Bucs are likely asking themselves now is if they’d get better per-touch production if they dialed back that burden a bit.
Bucky Irving
While there’ll doubtless be a camp battle for the backup job, Irving should have a higher ceiling than Edmonds, who has bounced around the NFL the past few seasons.
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The rookie lacks the size of an every-down back, but he was effective as both a runner and a receiver at Oregon, leading all FBS running backs in receptions last year with 56. Irving is more shifty than fast, which calls into question how much of a big-play threat he can be at the highest level. Still, he found ways to make plays for the Ducks and will be given a chance to contribute early.
Chase Edmonds
As noted, Edmonds is a journeyman, having played for four different teams over the past three years. His best days were with the Arizona Cardinals in 2020-21, when he averaged 877 combined yards while collecting 96 receptions. Like White and Irving, Edmonds can contribute in all facets, which should afford the Buccaneers some flexibility with deployment. The veteran hasn’t done much the past two years, though, and at 28 you wonder if the team might look at someone like RB Sean Tucker as RB3 if Irving locks down the No. 2 job.
Fantasy football outlook
On draft day, there’s only one name to know in the Buccaneers backfield, and that’s White. Even if the Bucs cut back on his touches a little, they didn’t make the type of investment in the position that makes you think White will be anything other than the lead back. He may not be able to match the efficiency of the top performers at the position, but his usage makes up for much of that, putting him right at the borderline of being a strong RB2 or low-end No. 1.
Whoever claims the backup job could be added to your watch list in shallow leagues. Even if Edmonds breaks camp as the No. 2 back, it’s easy to envision the Buccaneers moving Irving into that role as soon as they feel he’s ready to fill it, making him a late-round curiosity in deeper confines.
