Kenneth Gainwell Big Contributor In Pass Game
March 10th, 2026
New Bucs RB Kenneth Gainwell.
It appears that one of the minor moves the Bucs made yesterday could have a major impact.
(Before Joe gets hate-texts, a transaction for a non-starter is not a major move, sorry. And yeah, Joe’s still openly sour from yesterday’s moves and non-moves and has zero interest in pretending all is well.)
Does anyone really believe Bucky Irving isn’t the Bucs’ RB1? While he didn’t play like that last year, Joe’s chalking that up to a combination of Josh Grizzard perhaps not knowing how to scheme up a run game, injuries (duh) and that opposing defensive coordinators had all of last offseason to figure out how to stop Bucky.
Defensive coaches get paid too and the NFL is sort of a cat-and-mouse game. How well do folks adjust to adjustments?
But if the new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson wants to dink-and-dunk, the Bucs found a good receiving back.
Catching passes from Aaron Rodgers last year in Pittsburgh, Gainwell, for receiving backs who ran at least 150 routes (per NextGen Stats), put up solid numbers. And he was a YAC monster.
Gainwell personally accounted for 23 first downs in the passing game for the Steelers.
When Rachaad White stomped out of One Buc Palace, taking a leak on the shrubbery on his way out the door, his greatest trait was catching the ball. In that respect, Gainwell is a perfect replacement for White.
Kenneth Gainwell had the highest target rate (27.2%) among running backs who ran 150+ routes in 2025.
Gainwell had the 4th most catches (73) and the 5th most YAC (548) among that group while also posting the 4th-highest catch rate (min. 40 targets).@Buccaneers https://t.co/hhG9ocUGPz pic.twitter.com/m1I7ebwVLS
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 9, 2026