Tampa Bay Buccaneers Running Back Rachaad White Looking to 'Make People Fear' Him

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Rachaad White has a clear goal in mind for his third season.

Jan 21, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Rachaad White (1) / Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports

When Rachaad White was drafted to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, he had the same goal every rookie has — to get on the field. He did that, and after that set his sights on becoming the Buccaneers' starter at the position, and he did that eight times in his first season.

Last year, White was the lead back in Tampa Bay from Day 1and produced over 1,000 yards of offense while scoring nine touchdowns tripling his rookie scoring production.

Jan 21, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Rachaad White (1). / Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports

So what does a guy who has earned playing time and a starting job look to accomplish in his third season? How about establishing himself as someone teams no only have to respect, but be afraid of?

"If you are a guy in this league, you want to be a guy that is scouted for and respected," White told media. "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, 14. [No. 1] you have to worry about too.'"

For those who don't know, Nos. 13 and 14 are receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. The former a Bucs Ring of Honor and Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinee in waiting, the latter is the best receiver the Buccaneers have drafted since, well, Mike Evans.

Together, Evans, Godwin, and White helped new quarterback Baker Mayfield and offensive coordinator Dave Canales fit right in and produced a second-round appearance in the NFL Playoffs after many left the team for dead following Tom Brady's retirement after the 2022 NFL Season.

This year, the four of those players will look to make new offensive coordinator Liam Coen look just as good in his first year with Tampa Bay by following the guidance he's laying out to make them look even better than they did one year ago.

“I feel like I thrive well out in space. Liam [Coen] showed clips of that," White says. "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...so yeah, I’m excited for that. I’ll be prepared for that and I’m pretty sure it will happen.”

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