Tampa Bay Buccaneers' running back Rachaad White will be entering his third season in the NFL. In each of his first two seasons as a pro, White has been a part in the league's worst rushing attack— In 2022 and 2023 the Buccaneers averaged less than 100 yards rushing per game. In White's debut season, he split time with Leonard Fournette— His rookie campaign saw him tote the football 129 times for 481 yards. He also added another 50 catches and 290 yards in the passing game.
As a sophomore in the league, White saw a significant uptick in opportunities, which led to a significant uptick in production. Leonard Fournette was no longer a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. Naturally, White became Tampa's RB1 and nearly doubled his carries and yards, while climbing from one rushing score to six. As a receiver, his impact grew immensely. White collected over 500 yards on 64 catches, scoring three touchdowns.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers v Green Bay Packers
While he saw an increase in production across every major statline, the efficiency of his play remained relatively stagnant. As a rookie, White averaged 3.7 yards per carry. As a second year player, White averaged 3.6 yards per carry. His average yards per rush numbers don't instill the greatest amount of confidence, however, because of statistics like this White has largely been given a pass amongst Buccaneers' fandom.
White's evolution as a very reliable player out of the backfield, who is capable of making defenders look silly in space, has led many onlookers to pin the brunt of the Buccaneers' struggles in the run game on the team's offensive line. For White, that pass may not last much longer.
This will be year three— Year two was supposed to be a breakout year, it wasn't. Jason Licht made sure to add offensive line pieces through the NFL Draft and free agency to help aid White in his efforts this season. The Buccaneers have a new offensive coordinator, who will be bringing a new running scheme, which White has already gone on the record to endorse.
Tampa just spent a fourth round draft selection on a new running back, White was just a third round pick himself. If 2024 finishes as another season where Tampa Bay's offense displays ineptitude in their ground game Rachaad White might find himself in an uncomfortable situation come next off-season.
