There’s been a lot of shade thrown at NFL running backs over the last few seasons — mainly over how little they get paid compared to other positions — with only San Francisco 49ers star Christian McCaffrey seemingly immune.
One player trying to separate themselves from the pack in 2024 is third-year Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Rachaad White, with Pro Football Network’s Lorenzo Reyna calling White one of the “most underappreciated” players in the NFL headed into the upcoming season.
“The talk of Tampa last season was the renaissance of Baker Mayfield,” Reyna wrote. “But Rachaad White was equally effective as his backfield threat, compiling 1,539 all-purpose yards. With continued production, he could be poised for his first 1,000-yard rushing season.”
White taking his game to another level would be a welcome surprise for the Buccaneers, who finished dead last in the NFL in rushing in 2023 despite winning a third consecutive NFC South Division title.
White’s Quest to Become Elite NFL Running Back
If White does become one of the NFL’s elite running backs in 2024, it will have been a circuitous route to football’s mountaintop.
White went from Center High School in Kansas City, Missouri, and redshirted at NCAA Division II Nebraska-Kearney in 2017. He transferred to Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California in 2018 — one of the nation’s top juco football programs.
At Mt. San Antonio, White rushed for 1,235 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2019 before transferring to Arizona State, where he became the first player since 1949 to lead the team in rushing and receiving in 2020. Playing alongside future No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels at quarterback, White had 1,456 yards of total offense and 16 touchdowns in 2021 — 1,000 rushing yards and 456 receiving yards — and was named All-Pac-12.
White, 6-foot and 214 pounds, impressed at the NFL combine with a 4.48-second 40-yard dash and was selected in the third round (No. 91 overall) of the 2022 NFL draft by the Buccaneers.
The expectations for White headed into the NFL weren’t very high.
“Running back with size and senior year production, but the tape is more average than exciting,” NFL analyst Lance Zierlein wrote in his pre-draft evaluation. “White is a tight-hipped runner lacking desired lateral agility and burst after changing direction. He has a tendency to be slowed or stopped by first-level tacklers but is a more natural runner once he gets up to the second level. He fails to show enough creativity to escape the ‘gets what is blocked’ tag, but he does run with adequate vision. His lack of breakaway speed and limited special teams background won’t help his chances, so he needs to shine early in camp to give himself an opportunity to make a team as a RB3.”
White Has Been Reliable for Bucs Since 2022
White has played in 34 consecutive games since joining the Buccaneers in 2022 — not including three playoff games. As a rookie in 2022, White started eight games and had 771 yards of total offense and 3 touchdowns — numbers he essentially doubled in his second season.
The last time the Buccaneers had a Pro Bowl running back was in 2015, when Doug Martin had 1,402 rushing yards and 271 receiving yards to go with 7 touchdowns.
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