The Tampa Bay Buccaneers haven’t had an elite running back in a long time — almost a decade — but all of that could change in 2025.
Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski has the Buccaneers projected to take Oklahoma State All-American running back Ollie Gordon II at No. 19 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft in his latest mock draft released on July 19.
Gordon won the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top collegiate running back as a sophomore in 2023 after he rushed for 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns while averaging 6.1 yards per carry. Gordon also had 39 receptions for 330 yards and 1 touchdown and was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and a unanimous All-American.
“The Tampa Bay Buccaneers can’t run the football,” Sobleski wrote. “It only makes sense to select the top running prospect and finally rectify the situation. In fact, Tampa finished dead last in rushing offense during each of the last two seasons. Quarterback Baker Mayfield experienced a career turnaround last year. Both he and the franchise’s all-time leading receiver, Mike Evans, are back after signing contract extensions this offseason. Why not alleviate the pressure placed on both while making the offense even more effective?”
Gordon Could Probably Start Right Now for NFL Teams
NFL rules don’t allow college football players to declare for the NFL draft until they’ve been out of high school three years, even though some rare players come along who are obviously ready for the NFL after two years. Gordon, 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, is one of those players.
Gordon is the rare running back projected as a first-round pick in an era where the premium is being put on wide receivers over any other skill position except quarterback. For example, the 2024 NFL draft set records for most consecutive offensive players taken to start the draft (14) and most offensive players taken in the first round (21) as well as tying the record for most quarterbacks taken in the first round (6).
You know who wasn’t taken? Any running backs. Gordon seems like a surefire first-round pick even though he’ll probably face a barrage of character questions following his arrest for DUI in June 2024.
Buccaneers Don’t Have Great History at Running Back
The Buccaneers might be cursed when it comes to drafting running backs since they selected Auburn running back and Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson at No. 1 overall in 1985 despite Jackson telling then-owner Hugh Culverhouse he would never play for Tampa Bay.
Jackson was a man of his word. He chose to play professional baseball for the Kansas City Royals instead of accept a 5-year, $7.6 million contract from the Buccaneers and eventually returned to the NFL in 1987 with the Los Angeles Raiders.
Since then, the Buccaneers have drafted a running back in the first round just twice — Florida State’s Warrick Dunn in 1997 (No. 12 overall) and Auburn’s Cadillac Williams in 2005 (No. 5 overall).
Recent years haven’t been much more kind. The Buccaneers haven’t had a running back pass 1,000 rushing yards in a single season since Doug Martin ran for 1,402 yards in 2015 — also the only season in Tampa Bay history where a running back has been named NFL All-Pro.
