One of the interesting turns of the draft came when the Buccaneers didn’t select a running back. They’re standing pat, apparently, with just Peyton Barber and Ronald Jones at the position.
Jones, of course, was historically awful as a rookie. They selected him in the second round, but if he had been a later-round pick, I don’t think he would have made the team. Including the preseason, he carried 51 times for 66 yards.
They’ve been talking him up, saying he just needs to get his confidence back, and while that kind of talk tends to ring hollow in the offseason, the draft serves as an indication that they have at least some confidence in a turnaround.
Barber (pictured) should be the starter. He had to fight his way into the league as an undrafted free agent; he’s a modest talent without much speed. But he runs hard. That was noticeable all along last season. Not much of a pass catcher, but their behavior during the draft indicates they’re comfortable with him as their featured back.
Bruce Arians has taken over that franchise, and history indicates it should be a pass-heavy offense. Probably top-10 in passing and bottom-5 in rushing. So expectations for Barber (and perhaps Jones at some point) should be modest.
Arians sat out last year, but he was running an offense for each of the previous 11 seasons (either as a head coach or a coordinator). Not many running backs on those teams finished with good numbers. David Johnson, of course, was the No. 1 back in all the land in 2016, but just one other top-10 back in the other 10 years (when Johnson ranked 7th in 2015). Just four other running backs finishing in the top 20 (Rashard Mendenhall twice, plus Andre Ellington and Willie Parker).
BRUCE ARIANS RUNNING BACKS (2007-2017) | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | Run | Rec | Total | TD | No | PPR | Rk |
2016 | David Johnson, Ariz. | 1,239 | 879 | 2,118 | 20 | 80 | 413.8 | 1 |
2010 | Rashard Mendenhall, Pitt. | 1,273 | 167 | 1,440 | 13 | 23 | 245.0 | 11 |
2015 | David Johnson, Ariz. | 581 | 457 | 1,038 | 13 | 36 | 217.8 | 7 |
2009 | Rashard Mendenhall, Pitt. | 1,108 | 261 | 1,369 | 8 | 25 | 209.9 | 16 |
2007 | Willie Parker, Pitt. | 1,316 | 164 | 1,480 | 2 | 23 | 183.0 | 20 |
2014 | Andre Ellington, Ariz. | 660 | 395 | 1,055 | 5 | 46 | 181.5 | 19 |
2011 | Rashard Mendenhall, Pitt. | 928 | 154 | 1,082 | 9 | 18 | 180.2 | 22 |
2008 | Mewelde Moore, Pitt. | 588 | 320 | 908 | 6 | 40 | 166.8 | 29 |
2013 | Andre Ellington, Ariz. | 652 | 371 | 1,023 | 4 | 39 | 165.3 | 27 |
2012 | Vick Ballard, Ind. | 814 | 152 | 966 | 3 | 17 | 131.6 | 33 |
2007 | Najeh Davenport, Pitt. | 499 | 184 | 683 | 7 | 18 | 128.3 | 38 |
2008 | Willie Parker, Pitt. | 791 | 13 | 804 | 5 | 3 | 113.4 | 46 |
2015 | Chris Johnson, Ariz. | 814 | 58 | 872 | 3 | 6 | 111.2 | 48 |
2011 | Isaac Redman, Pitt. | 479 | 78 | 557 | 3 | 18 | 91.7 | 48 |
2015 | Andre Ellington, Ariz. | 289 | 148 | 437 | 3 | 15 | 76.7 | 68 |
2012 | Donald Brown, Ind. | 417 | 93 | 510 | 1 | 9 | 68.0 | 60 |
2017 | Kerwynn Williams, Ariz. | 426 | 93 | 519 | 1 | 10 | 67.9 | 71 |
2014 | Stepfan Taylor, Ariz. | 208 | 79 | 287 | 4 | 11 | 65.7 | 71 |
2009 | Mewelde Moore, Pitt. | 118 | 153 | 271 | 2 | 21 | 64.1 | 68 |
2010 | Mewelde Moore, Pitt. | 99 | 205 | 304 | 0 | 26 | 60.4 | 65 |
2009 | Willie Parker, Pitt. | 389 | 64 | 453 | 1 | 6 | 57.3 | 73 |
2010 | Isaac Redman, Pitt. | 247 | 72 | 319 | 2 | 9 | 52.9 | 69 |
2011 | Mewelde Moore, Pitt. | 157 | 104 | 261 | 1 | 11 | 43.1 | 84 |
2012 | Delone Carter, Ind. | 122 | 13 | 135 | 3 | 1 | 32.5 | 91 |
2017 | Elijhaa Penny, Ariz. | 124 | 38 | 162 | 2 | 4 | 32.2 | 89 |
2017 | D.J. Foster, Ariz. | 19 | 133 | 152 | 0 | 17 | 32.2 | 90 |
2016 | Andre Ellington, Ariz. | 96 | 85 | 181 | 0 | 12 | 30.1 | 91 |
2016 | Kerwynn Williams, Ariz. | 157 | 6 | 163 | 2 | 1 | 29.3 | 93 |
2013 | Alfonso Smith, Ariz. | 54 | 68 | 122 | 1 | 10 | 28.2 | 94 |
2014 | Kerwynn Williams, Ariz. | 246 | 11 | 257 | 0 | 2 | 27.7 | 97 |
2013 | Stepfan Taylor, Ariz. | 115 | 71 | 186 | 0 | 8 | 26.6 | 98 |
2015 | Kerwynn Williams, Ariz. | 142 | 16 | 158 | 1 | 2 | 23.8 | 105 |
2007 | Carey Davis, Pitt. | 68 | 49 | 117 | 0 | 12 | 23.7 | 96 |
2014 | Robert Hughes, Ariz. | 11 | 140 | 151 | 0 | 8 | 23.1 | 101 |
2017 | Chris Johnson, Ariz. | 114 | 43 | 157 | 0 | 5 | 20.7 | 99 |
2017 | David Johnson, Ariz. | 23 | 67 | 90 | 0 | 6 | 15.0 | 110 |
2011 | Jonathan Dwyer, Pitt. | 123 | 6 | 129 | 0 | 1 | 13.9 | 102 |
2017 | Bronson Hill, Ariz. | -2 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | -.2 | 150 |
(On the chart, you're looking at rushing yards, receiving yards, total yards, touchdowns, receptions, points using PPR scoring and rank among running backs that year.)
—Ian Allan