In a complementary role as a rookie, Rachaad White had his moments in 2022 for the underachieving Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Of course, he also had his fair share of struggles, and that is what makes him a tough player for fantasy football managers to gauge entering 2023.
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Rachaad White’s Fantasy Outlook
You may have heard, but Tom Brady is no longer the quarterback of the Bucs. The shift to Baker Mayfield is going to be a bit bumpy, but before dismissing all of their fantasy assets, let’s not forget that this was a bottom-10 scoring offense a year ago, ranking behind the likes of the Commanders and Cardinals.
NFC South Breakout Candidates#Falcons – Drake London, WR#Panthers – Ikem Ekwonu, OT#Saints – Alontae Taylor, CB#Buccaneers – Rachaad White, RBhttps://t.co/gi8Aa0xLU8 pic.twitter.com/RzbCLykXXl
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) August 17, 2023
The change under center is accompanied by a change in the backfield hierarchy, as Leonard Fournette is no longer the lead back.
That role now belongs to White after an up (50 catches) and down (3.7 yards per carry with one rushing TD) rookie campaign. Fournette vacates 262 touches from a season ago, and while we aren’t projecting White to assume that exact workload, the depth behind him is questionable at best.
Nothing has changed when it comes to projected target shares on this offense, just the size of the overall passing pie.
The Bucs are highly unlikely to crack 750 attempts like they did last season, but the odds are good that upwards of 40% of looks go to the Mike Evans/Chris Godwin tandem, especially with Russell Gage lost for the season.
Is White a Good Fantasy Pick?
At cost, I have no problems with adding White to your roster. The lack of proven competition behind him gives him a safe role, and while the touchdowns weren’t there last season, I’m not sure much can be taken from that as he was only given 1.3 red-zone touches per game (third-fewest among qualified RBs).
I don’t think the offense will be great, but the discount on all Buccaneers this summer has gone to a point where I’m comfortable with the risk/reward analysis.
- PFN Consensus Rank: 73rd overall
- Current ADP: 62nd overall