High Season Grade For Rachaad White
February 13th, 2024
A former Pro Bowl running back well known for being down on Rachaad White has come around.
In September, Maurice Jones-Drew wrote for NFL.com that the Bucs should pursue Colts running back Jonathan Taylor when it appeared he was on the trade block. That recommendation came one month after Jones-Drew ranked White the 24th best running back in the NFL.
Last week, MJD ranked all running backs who made a start in 2023 — 72 total. White came in at No. 11, sandwiched between Lions rookie Pro Bowl running back Jahmyr Gibbs at No. 10 and Steelers RB Najee Harris at No. 12.
Those guys were first-round draft picks; White was a third-rounder.
2023 stats: 17 games | 272 att | 990 rush yds | 3.6 ypc | 6 rush TD | 64 rec | 549 rec yds | 3 rec TDs | 2 fumbles lost
White finished tied for the seventh-most scrimmage yards in the league with 1,539, and he found the end zone eight times from November on. He was instrumental in the Bucs’ late-season run to the division crown and likely did enough to cement himself in the RB1 spot for Tampa in 2024.
White had a good season overall and Joe loved the durability and the improvement. But White needs work as a runner. It’s not debatable. Too many running backs hit the league without a learning curve when it comes to carrying the rock. White is still figuring it out.
Joe hopes the Bucs find competition for White soon. It’s not a major priority, but it might spark improvement in White and it could help, considering fixing the league’s worst run game “is Priority No. 1.”
February 13th, 2024 at 12:55 pm
Whites not bad by any stretch, however, I wouldnt hate picking a RB up in the mid rounds. Maybe Ray Davis reuniting with Coen??
February 13th, 2024 at 12:59 pm
prob gonna sign a bruiser rb like aj dillon. maybe keep edmonds too, he was nice at certain times. rachaad has earned his spot. tbh he probably has the best moves of ANY rb catching. i swear every time it looked like a check down that we would be short of this dude makes a great move and gets the first. i think he is on track to be the best imo. running the ball he may get better as blocking does but i think he’s a dynamic receiver. i’ll say it again. best in open space 1 on 1 in this league. go look at the tape. this dude constantly won those this year.
February 13th, 2024 at 1:20 pm
I predict the Bucs will draft Ray Davis out of Kentucky in the 6th to compete.
February 13th, 2024 at 1:24 pm
Just designate him as a slot receiver cowards.
February 13th, 2024 at 1:26 pm
He progressed well and I expect him to improve even more next year. We still need to get another RB.
February 13th, 2024 at 1:39 pm
We need another good RB and that’s a fact! Draft Ray Davis out of Kentucky!
February 13th, 2024 at 1:50 pm
Id bet you money he didn’t watch any tape to make this evaluation. Literally irrelevant.
February 13th, 2024 at 1:54 pm
😂 Bout time Joe put some respect on Rachaad White’s name
February 13th, 2024 at 2:12 pm
I don’t believe “Sweet Baby Ray” Davis will still be there in the 6th… Everyone said he was hands down, by far, THE Best RB in Mobile at the Senior Bowl (minus the top 2-3 who didn’t ‘show up’ to participate). I’ve seen a few ‘Mocks’ and most have him around the 4th Round… Some 3rd and some 5th. If, he’s still there late in the 4th then we should take him there with our pick!!!! The only ‘big-thing’ that might scare-off a few people, or at least give them reason to pause, would be his AGE. :/ Also, I saw on NFL.com’s new mock draft from yesterday, that they had the Bucs picking-up the ‘102nd-Pick’ (Comp.) due to losing Canales… I wonder if that is correct & the Bucs petitioned the league over that STUPID (‘2-years’) Rule!? If it’s NOT correct and we DON’T ‘gain’ a pick there, then I think they SHOULD petition the league over-it!!!! Cause, NOTHING about it makes ANY sense whatsoever, with it being 1-year versus 2-years!!!! It makes ZERO Sense.
February 13th, 2024 at 2:17 pm
There are some good backs coming out in Free Agency that the Bucs could use.
Saquon Barkley (probably too expensive)
Derrick Henry (probably too expensive)
Tony Pollard (coming off down year and probably too expensive)
Rico Dowdle (should take a serious look at him, runs violently like Pacheco of KC)
D’Andrea Swift (not bad, don’t know how much he would cost)
There are more, I am sure that could help the 32nd team in the league in Rushing.
Dowdle would be worth making a run at.
February 13th, 2024 at 2:18 pm
When you have the league’s worst running game and your RB is ranked 11th….what does that tell you?
Your Oline isn’t getting the job done….
I would love to see kneeldowns factored out…..we had a ton of them.
February 13th, 2024 at 2:18 pm
Maybe, the meaning (or ‘spirit’ of the rule) is within 2-years, as in two years, or less!? Idk… But, that Chad Rueter dude (or whatever is name is) from NFL.com yesterday, had the Bucs gaining/earning the number 102nd (comp) overall pick for losing Canales!!!! :/
February 13th, 2024 at 2:19 pm
Need a rb that’s no stranger to contact and runs like a mad man to pair with White
February 13th, 2024 at 2:26 pm
Wish we could add a late round RB that runs as ‘hard’ as Pacheco does. Man that dude brings visible attitude and ‘want to’ every time the ball is in his hands….
February 13th, 2024 at 2:28 pm
What happened to the late round pick who had the heart issue in his last year of college? He looked good in preseason. Didn’t he play some early in the season?
February 13th, 2024 at 2:29 pm
“But White needs work as a runner. It’s not debatable.”
Actually it’s very debatable, because this Joe thinks if you don’t hit the hole like Michael Pittman and run HARD into the back of your offensive lineman on every play, you don’t know how to run the ball.
White, meanwhile is a patient runner, in the style of young Le’Veon Bell – a guy that waits for holes to develop. To people that don’t know what they’re watching, this looks like hesitation, yet if you actually watch the ALL22, you can see literally see White wait then explode, and get yards all the time that weren’t there. Yes, from time to time, he can wait too long or make a wrong read, but that is the vast minority of plays.
Keyshawn Vaughn, meanwhile, in this same offense, is a traditional RB in the style that this Joe loves, the one that just RUNS HARD straight ahead without waiting for blocks to develop, and he averaged 1.8 yards per carry in this offense.
February 13th, 2024 at 2:37 pm
Pickgrin Says:
February 13th, 2024 at 2:26 pm
Wish we could add a late round RB that runs as ‘hard’ as Pacheco does. Man that dude brings visible attitude and ‘want to’ every time the ball is in his hands….
Rico Dowdle Free Agent on Cowboys is very close to Pacheco. The area of country that I am from I see the Chiefs and Cowboys ever week.
February 13th, 2024 at 3:10 pm
FanSince76 … ‘We need another good RB and that’s a fact! Draft Ray Davis out of Kentucky!’
Yes we do need another RB, but not Ray Davis. I was really hoping that the Bucs would draft AJ Dillon 4 years ago, but nooo, Green Bay beat us to the punch. But guess what … he’s a FA now and affordable (Market Value $3.5 mil).
AJ (6′ & 247 lbs) is the bruiser we’ve needed for years. Very durable (only missed 2 games in the past 3 years) and sports a 4.1 YPC average. Has decent hands also (78% catch percentage). He’s logged 16 TDs in his 4 years with the Pack, with 3 fumbles total. We could use someone his size down at the goal line especially.
His speed in the 40 (4.53 secs) is probably about average for most RBs today. Was looking at Walter Football’s ranking of the Top-25 RBs coming out in this draft, and they ALL recorded 40 yard times between 4.47 and 4.56 secs (Davis was ranked #16 with a 4.55 time).
February 13th, 2024 at 3:13 pm
Defense Rules Says:
I was really hoping that the Bucs would draft AJ Dillon 4 years ago, but nooo
Was thinking he would be too expensive, he always tears the Cowboys up. Would be a good pickup if they could get him. Surprise the Pac would let him go.
February 13th, 2024 at 3:17 pm
Dave Canales said Keyshawn Vaughn was going to be great in his offense (augh)
I wonder how Daves Canales will be at Carolina – his play and player analysis may not sit well with the short-tempered owner.
February 13th, 2024 at 3:47 pm
What happened to the Tucker kid from Syracuse?
February 13th, 2024 at 4:03 pm
White had a huge number of carries so you can’t just look at his rushing yards. I found some advanced stats on FantasyPros:
White is 89th in broken tackle probability and 94th in Yds After Contact/ Attempt while rushing. I’m thinking that his 3.6 yds per rush is partly related to OL blocking so it’s not as important as YAC or broken tackles. Interestingly, Edmunds has generally similar stats but his YAC and broken tackle rate is slightly better than White’s.
Of course, White has great receiving numbers and even good YAC while receiving.
I think the Bucs need a RB1 for rushing and let White focus on receiving out of the backfield or split out.
February 13th, 2024 at 4:56 pm
Too many attempts and touches for one guy. He’s going to get hurt and/or wear out fast at that pace.
February 13th, 2024 at 5:40 pm
I really like Rachaad. He was a 3rd rounder which goes to show there are so many effective players that end up being better then some that were 1st and 2nd rounds.
February 13th, 2024 at 9:28 pm
I like White.
990 yards.. just ten more yards! Ack.
Go Bucs!
February 14th, 2024 at 2:28 am
White did improve as the season got going. His big fault to me was not seeing the field and dancing around in the backfield like Barry Sanders looking for the home fun rather than putting his head down and going. He reverted back to that a bit late in the year….Quit it!
He was getting nailed in the backfield before he could take a step way too often early in the year. Would have gotten his 1,000 if not for all those negative plays.
Go Bucs!
February 14th, 2024 at 6:52 am
We definitely need to upgrade the rush potential. According to PFR, the Buccos where 32 in total rush yards (1509) and 32 in yards per attempt (3.4). Run angry and move up to the middle of the pack (where the SB Champs Chiefs are) is a good goal.
February 14th, 2024 at 8:28 am
Reunite Nick Chubb with his friend Baker Mayfield. Nick coming back from a horrific injury last year. Browns want to unload Nick because they are unsure about his ability to come back. If anyone can return to form it is Nick, a tireless worker and when healthy the best back in the NFL. Nick can play 50% of offensive snaps and White the other 50%. Not sure Tampa can afford Nick.
February 14th, 2024 at 8:38 am
Want to improve our rushing attack, get a Center, not a former tackle, or a former guard, get a Center in the draft. Follow that up with a Left Guard. I think our entire running game would be vastly improved.
I am also curious about our undrafted RB Tucker. He has the skill set I am not sure why he never saw the field this season. We should probably just cut him as he couldn’t pass up Edmunds on the RB list, aint that right QB#2 fans?
I like several RBs coming out. Davis is a good fit and has Knowledge of how the new Offense will be run. Irving from Oregon is an interesting RB.
Would rather we draft a RB than get one via FA.
Draft choices for me: C&G, ILB, OLB, S&CB, RB, WR, TE.
Yeah, I know that is 9 players, and we do not have that many draft choices. But our GM has pulled a few rabbits out of his hat in the past, some were no Bueno. Others were top-of-the-line.
Excited to see the 2024 Buccaneer team!!!
GO!!!!!BUCS!!!!!
February 14th, 2024 at 10:06 am
What’s happening Bucs fans, I like to say that I like White a lot, the thing is we have to get better up front. We got better in the end and maybe the right coverage wasn’t called in here and there. Edmonds is really fast but when you get stuffed in which happened a lot, you get cut short on showing the world what you can really do.. So I just want to say it, Let’s get the band back together and do it again baby!!! Go Bucs!!!
February 14th, 2024 at 11:31 am
Under 4 yards a carry sucks. Last in the league sucks. There’s no escaping or denying that. Hopefully, next season will be better but claiming White had a good year is absurd.
February 14th, 2024 at 12:30 pm
White is the Southern Border of Running Backs.
People in charge INSIST that it’s great, but anyone with two eyes can see it’s a dumpster fire.
February 14th, 2024 at 8:56 pm
White’s problem as a runner is he lacks vision. He looks like he runs only to the hole he’s supposed to hit whether it’s there or not. He has no or very little ad lib to his game
February 14th, 2024 at 9:01 pm
Whenever Joe mentions that he gets killed. Even Ira sees it.