The Buccaneers’ offense was already one of the best in the league even before Tom Brady signed on to be their new quarterback. The bread and butter of Tampa’s offense last season was their passing attack, highlighted by wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, both of whom eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark.
But their backfield was a different story. Tampa Bay ranked 24th in rushing last season, averaging just 95.1 yards per game on the ground. With Ronald Jones as the primary back now, the Bucs will need to find him some additional help, especially after Peyton Barber signed with the Redskins.
The NFL draft is likely the best place for the Bucs to find backfield support, but if they miss out on some big-name backs like D’Andre Swift or J.K. Dobbins, where could they turn? In Todd McShay’s running back rankings over at ESPN.com, he says Cam Akers of Florida State and Zack Moss of Utah could be great value finds for teams on Day 2 of the draft.
Per McShay:
“Akers is probably the most underrated running back in the class. And though he didn’t wow at the combine, Moss has power in his game, and his playing speed is a lot faster than his timed speed (4.65 seconds in the 40-yard dash in Indianapolis).”
Akers rushed for 1,144 yards and 14 touchdowns last season at FSU, while Moss put up 1,416 rushing yards to go along with 15 touchdowns for the Utes. Tampa Bay would be happy to get even half that production from a rookie running back.
[lawrence-related id=30219,30213,30205,30199]