Analysis: The Inconsistencies of the Buccaneers Running Back Room
On paper, the Buccaneers have one of the most explosive offenses in the entire NFL, but one thing holding the team back is its lack of production from the running back room.
In a position group filled with Ronald Jones, Leonard Fournette, LeSean McCoy, and Ke'Shawn Vaughn, the Buccaneers have still struggled to consistently produce in both the run and the passing game.
As for RB1, Jones has been a workhorse in the run game but has yet to be featured as he should, mainly due to his deficient passing game presence which includes drops and miscues in pass protection. Jones has a longer leash than the other backs as he is Tampa's building block at the position, and he is the most productive back by far in the run game, in which he is one of the NFL's best.
With two veterans who have been in the league for a combined 15 years of experience, Fournette and McCoy both have yet to find their footing in their relative roles.
McCoy, who started the year off playing as the third-down back, quickly lost his role once he began to continuously drop passes which found McCoy's snaps to significantly drop. McCoy knew his role coming into the season once he signed with Tampa, and has been ineffective in making plays on his dwindling snap count.
Fournette has seen some success as a second option to Jones but has failed to impact the majority of games he has played in aside from last weekend's two touchdown outing at Atlanta. With Jones out, Fournette saw himself seeing the ball on 17 plays, posting 65 all-purpose yards on 14 carries and three receptions.
This is by no means a terrible stat line but could be better as the average amount of yards on Sunday per touch was a mere 3.9 yards.
Vaughn, a rookie out of Vanderbilt, has seen very limited reps but came up clutch against the Chargers in week four when he scored the go-ahead touchdown to prompt Tampa to a comeback win. Vaughn was effective in the blowout of the Packers, finishing the game with 42 rushing yards on only five carries.
Despite Jones ranking eighth in rushing yards this season, the Buccaneers offense accounts for the 29th best rushing offense based on yardage gained.
Throughout 14 games this season, Tampa Bay has only accumulated 1,314 rushing yards on 321 attempts. Averaging this stat out to approximately four yards a carry, which ranks as the 24th most productive offense based on average yards per attempt.
In the passing game, drops from each running back have consistently killed any momentum and have caused drives to falter throughout the season.
As a unit, the Bucs running backs have dropped a total of 15 passes, averaging one per game. Both Jones and Fournette are tied with five drops, a number that is good enough to tie for second-worst in the team. Following them lies Vaughn who has three, and McCoy who has two.
The offensive issues, at running back and with slow starts, that the Buccaneers are facing are disturbing for a team filled with experience and potential, especially heading into Week 16 and a possible playoff berth.
It's understandable that it could be difficult to acquire chemistry with the lack of a dedicated preseason due to COVID-19, but there are no excuses for many of these drops, especially as the Bucs enter Week 16.
Finding more production on the ground from backs other than Jones is also a challenge due to the passing attack consisting of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown, Rob Gronkowski, and Cameron Brate. There are simply too many cooks in the kitchen for each to get fed.
All in all, it is a far cry for any changes to be made by Bruce Arians and Byron Leftwich at this time, being so close to the playoffs. All Bucs fans can hope for is that Jones can get back to full health after dealing with a finger injury and being placed on the COVID-19 list last week, as he is a vital piece to an offense that is loaded with firepower.
