The Need For Speed
April 2nd, 2023
Alabama RB Jahmyr Gibbs.
You’ve probably heard a critique about the Bucs just like Joe has: the Bucs last year were a slow, plodding team and in need of speed.
Well, if the Bucs are looking for speed, than Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs might be that guy.
The transfer from Georgia Tech ran a 4.36 in the 40 at the combine. And yes, he’s a three-down back whose pass-catching skills are considered excellent.
Here is what Sports Information Solutions had to say.
…He runs routes like a receiver, and he even shows the savviness to work himself open on scramble drills. He can run all the routes in the RB route tree, line up out in the formation, and can be put in motion as well. His hands are borderline excellent. He catches nearly everything with his hands and not his body unless he has to. Once he’s caught the ball, he easily turns into a runner, showing his ability to accelerate quickly and get upfield with the elusiveness to force missed tackles in space. In pass pro, Gibbs shows the football intelligence to know where to be most times, but he lacks the strength to sustain many oncoming rushers. It’s rare he’s asked to pass protect due to his dynamic receiving ability, and that’ll likely be no different at the next level.
Gibbs projects as a starting, three-down back at the next level in any scheme. He’s likely not a back who can tote the rock 30 times a game, but utilizing him to where he can get 15-20 carries and 8-10 targets in the passing game is how he can best be used and limits the wear and tear on his body. On 3rd downs, he shouldn’t be asked to block, instead he should be running routes and being a playmaker out in space. He likely won’t carve out a role on many special teams units, but does have the experience and ability to be a solid kick returner given his traits as a ballcarrier.
Last year Gibbs averaged six yards a carry at Alabama.
But what about Rachaad White, Joe? What about him? Last year he was the RB1b for the worst rushing team in the NFL. So what are we talking about here?
No, Joe’s not throwing in the towel on White, but at best the jury is still out on him. Joe doesn’t believe any player who leads a team’s position group that is the worst in the league should be given any rope, sorry.
You don’t improve from worst in the league by staying status quo. So if the Bucs are really in the need for speed, how can they not improve with Gibbs?
Joe’s OK with selecting Devon Achane of Texas A&M (perhaps on the third day of the draft), who ran a 4.32 40 at the combine. Speed kills.
April 2nd, 2023 at 12:09 am
The Bucs need a power back. Speed at WR.
April 2nd, 2023 at 12:11 am
He looks like Jalynn Darden.
Devon Achane has all the speed plus strength plus returner plus catch plus block plus plus. This Darden / Dexter Jackson the Bad knockoff will follow Darden to semi-pro fame.
April 2nd, 2023 at 12:12 am
But if the Trask lover dislikes him, he’s a sure thing. Draft him.
April 2nd, 2023 at 12:17 am
With the offensive as predictable as it was and the injuries across the Oline it’s really misleading to blame the Rbs for last seasons rushing results. That’s not to say they shouldn’t draft this back or one with his attributes because I’m all for it.
April 2nd, 2023 at 12:30 am
No problem taking speed at RB…. After rd 3.
They also need speed at WR before rd 4.
First couple of rounds NEEDS to be OL, DL, & DB
April 2nd, 2023 at 12:36 am
White looked very explosive at times, gues we will have to wait and see what Licht thinks about him. I am sure he is not quite as short sighted as Joe given all the injuries and lack of run blocking on our offensive line last year.
April 2nd, 2023 at 12:41 am
Just because Licht thinks he might have a good player at RB doesn’t mean he won’t draft another one. Except QB because everyone knows that everyone in the Bucs organization conspires to run Trask out of the league rather than give him a chance. Bucs will draft a RB, just not this one. Think a smaller Trent Richardson.
April 2nd, 2023 at 1:44 am
If Leftwich was half as bad as.Joe says he was, how can you can you say White.isnt RB1 material and this guy is?
April 2nd, 2023 at 3:29 am
The one thing the Bucs couldn’t do was impose their will in the running game. Doubt a guy like this will make the Bucs a more physical football team – which is needed.
April 2nd, 2023 at 4:02 am
Rumor has it Licht is strongly considering drafting Ira Kauffman as a UDFA this year. I submit this is a STRONG calculating move that will surely make the “rest” of our team faster by comparison.
April 2nd, 2023 at 5:07 am
Just Leave Trask Alone … ‘The Bucs need a power back. Speed at WR.’
Yes, yes, yes. Bucs NEED a power back similar to the A-Train. Unfortunately this year’s crop doesn’t look like it has any; far too many heavy WRs masquerading as RBs.
Gibbs is a good example of that at 5’9″ & 199 lbs, Good speed but not an all-around player from what I’ve seen in the Bama games because his pass blocking was below average even at the college level. Heck even WRs at the NFL level are expected to block. Ranked as the #2 RB this year, but Bucs would probably have to use our 3rd Rnd pick to get him. Too many other needs for that.
The RB I’d really wanted as a power back was Green Bay’s AJ Dillon back in 2020 (6′ & 247 lbs). Unfortunately he went in Rnd 2 (after we’d chosen Antoine Winfield) but we did get Vaughn in Rnd 3. Here’s a thought: let’s let Vaughn actually play this year instead of using another Rnd 3 pick on a RB.
April 2nd, 2023 at 5:22 am
We need speed in every position.Definitely in RB and WR.
We need explosive plays by RBs and WRs after the catch, that element is missing.
We jave a new offensive scheme now lets see how the Offense will look like. But we sure need some speed no doubt about that
April 2nd, 2023 at 5:57 am
The staff that hadn’t given Vaughn any real opportunity is now gone. They also were not part of the decision making process that rated White in draft prep. The fortunes of either back could change with a new offensive staff…all the speculation in the world cannot guess how either back will be received by Canales. We can’t even take him at his word as spoken to the press because coachspeak will always speak coach.
April 2nd, 2023 at 6:30 am
I believe ,leftwich rarely let White get into any kind of rhythm. He could reel
off an 18 yard run, and be replaced by Lenny shortly after. It can only help White to have a coordinator who will give him a chance to succeed with better play selection and blocking schemes. I don’ believe any back that is not a good blocker,
should be a third down back. So, IMO Gibbs is a luxury we can’t afford right now.
April 2nd, 2023 at 6:46 am
JBF is correct that the jury is still out on Rashad White. But most intelligent observers note that the Bucs run blocking sucked all last sesson, both linemen and the Gronkless tight ends room. So last year was not a fair test for any of our running backs who were given the fewest run attempts of any team in the league. The first priority for Licht, Bowles, and Canales is to fix the O line. If that doesn’t happen nothing else matters. If they do fix the line then we’ll know pretty quickly whether our running backs are good or not. Drafting a speedy RB on day 3 seems to make sense as long as the O line gets fixed.
April 2nd, 2023 at 7:09 am
Invest in the Oline & at TE……..and, yes we need speed….but would rather have a power back & speed at WR.
April 2nd, 2023 at 7:34 am
If we’re going to run the ball more, we’ll need to carry four backs. My guess is we’ll draft a back, the real question is where? If the best player available talent wise is a running back, do you take him?
April 2nd, 2023 at 7:36 am
No doubt about it. We need speed.
April 2nd, 2023 at 7:39 am
Trade down with Dallas, Giants or Bengals get extra pick OT, RB and Safety. Maybe Harrison, Gibbs and Sidney Brown.
April 2nd, 2023 at 7:40 am
Duane Says:
April 2nd, 2023 at 6:46 am
The first priority for Licht, Bowles, and Canales is to fix the O line. If that doesn’t happen nothing else matters.
——————————————————————————————-
Exactly!
If we had a good O-line last season we might have actually had a decent offense.
April 2nd, 2023 at 7:43 am
I don’t understand the “need” for TE….we have Otton and Ko can line up there as well. Receiving and blocking TEs.
April 2nd, 2023 at 10:02 am
A great offensive line will make an average RB look like a pro bowler. Invest in the big dogs up front and the running game will improve. If you don’t doesn’t matter who is running the ball.
April 2nd, 2023 at 10:19 am
I can’t imagine the Bucs considering a RB until round 6 or 7, if at all.
There are far too many holes on the defense to fill and they definitely need to use their first pick for an offensive LT. They’ll need to pick up another TE in the draft, too.
If someone worth taking at RB is lurking around at the end, the Bucs should pick up a RB there. There are always plenty of veteran FAs the Bucs will be able to pick up for $2 mil or less.
April 2nd, 2023 at 10:20 am
If the O line doesn’t open running lanes as intended the speed of a rb is useless.If you’re being tackled in the backfield.I believe the offensive line needs much more attention than at running backs.Plus running backs are a dime a dozen.Goid offensive linemen are gems hard to find.
April 2nd, 2023 at 10:50 am
Scheme and the oline were the problem last year in the run game. Wirfs was the only OL that could run block well. Everyone else was below average at best. That is why the trenches must be fixed this year through the draft. If they can do that I fully expect Rachaad White to be a top 8 back in the NFL. The kid loves football and really can do it all.
April 2nd, 2023 at 10:51 am
If you want speed, Gibbs and Achane are both great. If you want a punishing runner that CAN take 30 carries a game, Zach Charbonnet from UCLA is your guy. Kind of a Priest Holmes/Edgerrin James type.
April 2nd, 2023 at 10:55 am
Rasheen Ali is my sleeper pick at the RB position if we draft an RB. One prospect isn’t going to miraculously make our run game turnaround, especially keeping the fact we have 3 open positions on our offensive line right now in mind. As it stands we can take a shot on late draft RB prospect like Ali and add him to the rotation, because there will be but so many snaps in my opinion. We’ve got White, still have Vaughn who’s still untested, added Edmonds, and carrying Patrick Laird over as a late preseason addition in 2022. Spending a 1st rounder on a RB would be a misappropriation of draft resources with the current state of our roster.
In short, being like Mark Dominik and grouping a million dollar man like Revis, in with the likes of Lequan Lewis and other miscellaneous players of much lower skill and capability. Balance is key.
April 2nd, 2023 at 11:06 am
Late round back, 6th or 7th round, Mo Ibrahim from Minnesota. Can do it all. Guaranteed that Antoine Winfield is on Licht to look at him. Super high character guy, also.
Meanwhile, trenches trenches edge edge trench edge. And we can pick up speed from UDFA WRs including some guys we’ve already seen. Like Grayson.
April 2nd, 2023 at 12:07 pm
Goat you never offer a single stat to substantiate your musings. Its just trust me bro. You’re just another swinging richard with an opinion – and everyone’s got those like elbows and you know whats.
April 2nd, 2023 at 12:09 pm
I’ve heard a lot of high praise for Archane earlier, but less lately. If he’s still there in the fifth we should think about taking him. We need so many other spots worse, though.
April 2nd, 2023 at 1:02 pm
Bucs had a bunch of speed last season, until the final cut, when the Bowles cleaner cleaned them out.
What speed was left, BL forgot who they were and never put them in the game.
We still have a couple of fast guys on the practice squad, and in Thompkins. They need linemen on both sides, a CB, and a safety first.
April 2nd, 2023 at 3:26 pm
Not being able to block = NOT a true 3 down back
April 2nd, 2023 at 3:29 pm
Mike S, what stat are you looking for? What the hell are you blabbering about?
April 2nd, 2023 at 7:01 pm
Bijan has speed and power. Leave the flyweights for round seven or UFA. That includes kickers.
April 2nd, 2023 at 7:16 pm
Had the privilege of meeting rachaad white at the Glazier museum in downtown Tampa yesterday. And as a fan and a person from the culture i wouldn’t consider him as a friendly type guy. Hopefully he does well but I’m definitely pulling for bucs to get another RB in the building. Not once did he acknowledge a die a hard fan as if i wasn’t there lol but regardless he’s a good player. I need Gibbs in the building hopefully he’s more embracing to a fan, hurt feelings, it’s not every day you get to meet a guy your pulling for on your favorite team lol
April 2nd, 2023 at 9:13 pm
Dre bucs — sounds like it wasn’t much of a privilege. That’s too bad. Some dudes are not friendly, some aren’t friendly to the “outside” world. Sapp was notoriously surly with random fans who would encounter him by chance. Obviously that wasn’t any kind of indicator on his quality of play. Too bad though — he had the chance to make you do cartwheels and he basically farted in your face.
I’m with you that we need more RBs in the building than we have now especially for camp.
April 3rd, 2023 at 7:53 am
I like Jason Licht but he allows ego to get in the way of evaluating players that he previously drafted. He has trouble accepting a player is not what he thought they were when he drafted them. Hall and White from last years draft fall in that category. White is average at best! He has no special qualities. They need a big upgrade at RB but unfortunately Jason’s ego won’t allow him to see that until White has completed his rookie contract. Expect three more years of a mediocre run game.