Buccaneers RB Rachaad White wants to 'make people fear me, make people respect me' in 2024

Tampa Bay running back Rachaad White came on strong down the stretch last season, giving the Buccaneers offense juice on the ground, which it lacked early in the campaign.

White, who posted a career-high 990 yards on 272 carries with six touchdowns last season, is entering his third year. He believes that he’s only just begun to show his potential.

“If you are a guy in this league, you want to be a guy that is scouted for and respected,” White said via the team’s official website. “I have seen that, and people just leaving me out. I saw that and wanted to make the most and make people fear me, make people respect me and to say when I come in the game, ‘It is not just 13 [Mike Evans], 14 [Chris Godwin]. [No. 1] you have to worry about, too.'”

The Tampa run game got off to a slow start to the season, which prompted quarterback Baker Mayfield to note that they weren’t a run-first team. In the latter half of the season, White got things on track. In the Bucs’ final seven games, White averaged 4.05 yards per carry, going for 531 yards and two TDs on 131 carries. In Tampa’s two postseason games, he averaged 4.7 YPC on 27 totes.

On Monday, White confessed that he needs to increase his efficiency to make significant progress in 2024.

Currently, I am not satisfied with my career performance, particularly in terms of my yards per carry. I aspire to be a more efficient running back, which I believe should be my next major step. Efficiency is key for any running back. Throughout history, the successful ones, such as Walter Payton, have consistently averaged 4.0-4.1 yards per carry or more. Of course, there are seasons where even the best average around 3.0 yards due to various factors. Nevertheless, my main focus is to study and understand the game better, aiming for improved efficiency this year.

As a product of the Sean McVay system, new offensive coordinator Liam Coen has the potential to elevate White to higher levels of efficiency. The intriguing aspect regarding the utilization of the running back is the increased impact White could have in the passing attack. Despite not being a standout pass catcher in the past two years, White is confident that there is room for improvement in Coen’s offense.

“Obviously, I do want to be out in space a lot. I feel like I thrive well out in space,” he said. “Liam showed clips of that, too. Over time… (Liam) wasn’t there, but like Todd Gurley and guys in the West Coast offense, (Darrell) Henderson — we’ve seen guys catching touchdowns out wide in empty (sets) matched up against a linebacker. Of course that’s huge, as well as just learning, so yeah, I’m excited for that. I’ll be prepared for that and I’m pretty sure it will happen.”