Rachaad White

Offense was a surprising bright spot for the Buccaneers in 2023, and White played a big role in that outcome. The 2022 third-round pick really settled in as a workhorse for Tampa Bay, taking a much bigger workload than he'd ever previously handled in the NFL or college. White held up well in the new role, playing 17 games and leading all RBs with 823 snaps. He was particularly effective as a pass catcher, turning 70 targets into 64 catches for 549 yards and three touchdowns. That's elite efficiency by RB standards, and to an extent that can't happen based on luck alone over such a considerable sample. The catch is that White's rushing production was predictably inefficient behind an O-line that had three new starters and struggled on the interior, with his rushing average of 3.6 yards opening up the possibility of another RB getting in on the action in 2024. Good as White was in 2023 -- especially for fantasy purposes -- it's also true that his volume was granted in part because the Bucs had little else in the backfield. The addition of fourth-round pick Bucky Irving is a slight concern at a glance because the rookie is also a capable pass catcher, but White has size, speed and experience working in his favor (Irving ran a 4.55 40 at 5-9, 192, compared to White's 4.48 at 6-0, 214). With Irving and Chase Edmonds the main threats to take playing time, White could rank among the league leaders in snaps and touches again.

While it's not clear how good White might be, the Buccaneers lack a running back on their depth chart who can clearly outplay the 2022 third-round pick. Given the underwhelming veteran trio of Chase Edmonds, Ke'Shawn Vaughn and Patrick Laird, the greatest threat to White's workload might be the undrafted rookie duo of Sean Tucker (Syracuse) and Ronnie Brown (Shepherd). Still, it would be nice to see White play better than he did as a rookie. His one good game as a runner (22 carries for 105 yards) was less impressive given that it came against a disheveled Seattle run defense, and he ultimately averaged only 5.8 yards on 50 catches and 3.7 on 129 carries, with more fumbles (three) than rushes of 20-plus yards (two). It's not reassuring for his 2023 per-touch efficiency that the Bucs may be in quasi-rebuilding mode with a summer QB battle between Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask, but at least the defense still looks formidable and White was competent last year as a check-down option (50 catches, two drops on 58 targets).

A one-year starter at Arizona State, White was taken in the third round of this year's draft and now has an opportunity to seize a role behind Bucs starter Leonard Fournette. White flashed an impressive array of skills in college, proving to be a solid pass catcher while running with vision and agility in the open field. Concerns about his speed were answered when he clocked a 4.48 40 at the combine, and while he's not the most physical player and too often was unable to escape the first defender, he showed a knack for finding creases and a nose for the end zone. Ke'Shawn Vaughn has done little in two NFL seasons and Ronald Jones is now in Kansas City, so if White can earn Tom Brady's trust in pass protection, he could step into the No. 2 role ahead of Vaughn and Giovani Bernard.