Bucs Storylines: What’s At Stake For Rachaad White In 2024?

Let’s talk about Rachaad White, shall we?

The more exciting periods of the Bucs offseason are over with, as pre-draft scouting, free agency, the NFL Draft, OTAs and mini-camps are over. That means it’s time to settle in for what feels like the longest of waits before training camp gets underway in late July.

The dog days of the NFL offseason are all about storylines for the upcoming season. Media and fans alike spend the days of June and July passing the time with discourse surrounding all sorts of rankings, as well as the big stories that are bound to come up when the season begins in September.

So, with that in mind, the idea here is to narrow in on some of the Bucs’ biggest stars and go player-by-player to dive into the big storylines that are in store for the 2024 season. After starting with quarterback Baker Mayfield and continuing with wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, we continue today with running back Rachaad White.

Bucs Storylines: Rachaad White

Here are three big storylines surrounding Bucs running back Rachaad White in 2024:

Can Rachaad White Lead The Charge To Revive The Bucs Run Game?

Bucs RB Rachaad White – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Tampa Bay’s run game hasn’t finished in the top half of the league since 2015, when it ranked fifth (135.1 yards per game). That was thanks to a 1,402-yard season from Doug Martin, as well as a 529-yard campaign for Charles Sims (remember him?). In the years since 2015, Tampa Bay has finished 24th, 27th, 29th, 24th, 29th, 26th, 32nd (dead last) and 32nd (dead last again). So for White as the Bucs’ RB1, it’s largely on his shoulders to revitalize the team’s rushing attack in 2024.

Under Dave Canales last year, Tampa Bay was stubborn with the run game. It was painful early on, but while it admittedly never reached elite levels, it improved as the season went on. White averaged more than four yards per carry in four straight games from Nov. 26-Dec. 17 and nearly got there again in the last two regular season games, going for 3.8 and 3.9 yards per carry in those two games, respectively.

There were a couple of 100-yard rushing games along the way, and that resulted in the second-year running back finishing just shy of 1,000 rushing yards, as he totaled 990 on 272 carries (3.6 avg.).

White showed more encouraging signs for the run game in the playoffs, running 18 times for 72 yards (4.0 avg.) against the Eagles and going for 55 yards on nine carries (6.1 avg.) against the Lions.

With new offensive coordinator Liam Coen coming in this offseason, White could be in for a huge jump in rushing efficiency and overall effectiveness. Coming from the Sean McVay system, Coen will implement a lot of motion and pre-snap movement out of 11 personnel, and that could give the third-year running back more of a chance to take advantage of his prowess in space.

If it all comes together the way Coen and head coach Todd Bowles are envisioning, White will be leading the charge for a run game revival in 2024. It’s not as if the Bucs need to be fifth in rushing like they were in 2015. A significant improvement that gets them out of the depths of the NFL (and ideally into the top half of the league) will work. That can take some pressure off quarterback Baker Mayfield and help the Tampa Bay offense as a whole as it looks to be even better than it was in 2023.

What Will The 1-2 Punch Of Rachaad White And Bucky Irving Look Like?

Bucs RB Rachaad White and RBs coach Skip Peete – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Improving the run game won’t be completely on Rachaad White in 2024. Tampa Bay drafted Oregon running back Bucky Irving in the fourth round of this year’s draft, and he’s expected to be the other half of the Bucs’ 1-2 punch in the backfield.

That could lead to a lighter workload for White, and that’s not a bad thing. He carried the ball 272 times in 2023 and caught 64 passes for a total of 336 touches. It was something of a miracle that he managed to play all 19 of the team’s games with such a heavy workload. With Irving in the mix and veteran Chase Edmonds back — but as the team’s RB3 this time — Liam Coen has some options within his backfield.

White is still the starter, of course. But having Irving in the backfield is a benefit to the offense in a couple of ways. There’s the simple fact that the Bucs added another playmaker to the offense who can break tackles and make people miss. But what comes with that is a chance to help White maintain fresher legs, and that benefits both him and the offense because the fresher he is, the more effective he’ll presumably be both in the run game and as a pass catcher.

What the split looks like between White and Irving (and Edmonds, to a lesser extent) will be an interesting storyline to follow throughout the season. Tampa Bay hasn’t had an effective 1-2 punch in its backfield for quite a long time, as even the duo of Ronald Jones II and Leonard Fournette during the 2020 Super Bowl season never seemed to be rolling at the same time.

If Coen and his staff can strike the right balance with White and Irving in 2024, it might very well help contribute to that aforementioned run game revival the Bucs are looking for.

Can Rachaad White’s Ascension Continue In 2024?

Bucs RB Rachaad White – Photo by: USA Today

As the Bucs went on their four-game winning streak last December and ultimately won five of their last six games to three-peat as NFC South champions, White was right in the middle of the offense’s resurgence. It wasn’t always in the run game, but that’s when his dual-threat ability really came in handy. By the end of 2023, in fact, Rachaad White was one of the better dual-threat running backs in the league.

White’s 1,542 all-purpose yards in 2023 were the fourth-most among running backs in the NFL, trailing only Buffalo’s James Cook (1,567), New York’s Breece Hall (1,585) and San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey (2,023). Cook and McCaffrey were Pro Bowlers, and Hall was one of the Pro Bowl Games’ biggest snubs.

Even with a slow start as Tampa Bay grew into Dave Canales’ offense — White went over 60 yards rushing just twice in the first 10 games — the 2022 third-round was right there with those top all-purpose backs by the end of the season. He had seven games with 100-plus total yards and three more with 99, 98 and 93 yards, respectively. There were plenty of areas that could’ve been better for him, but the arrow was certainly pointing up by the end of the season.

So the big question for White in 2024 will be whether he can continue the ascension that began in the latter stages of 2023 and into the playoffs. Some of it will depend on how much Bucky Irving cuts into his workload, but if staying fresh can ensure that White keeps racking up yards the way he did late last season and surpasses his touchdown total of nine (six rushing, three receiving), perhaps he’ll work his way into the conversation for his first Pro Bowl selection.