Over his first three NFL seasons, running back Rachaad White has caught 165 passes, the fourth-most by any running back in the NFL in that span. He has also caught 89.2% of the passes intended for him, which is the second-highest rate for any player in the NFL over those three seasons who was targeted at least 50 times.
Last year, White was joined in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers backfield by Bucky Irving, who would go on to lead all NFL rookies in rushing yards (1,122), yards from scrimmage (1,514) and rushing touchdowns (eight). Irving also proved to be a productive pass-catcher in his debut campaign, snaring 47 passes for 392 yards. Oh, and that one player who caught a higher percentage of his targets than White? Yeah, it was Irving, at 90.4%, though obviously on about a third of the amount of opportunities.
The Buccaneers had the second most team yards after the catch (YAC) in 2024, behind only the Lions, and the sure hands and open-field make-you-miss abilities of both White and Irving were a big reason why. Every team in the NFL would like to feature a running back who's a serious weapon in the passing attack, too, but it's not often that a team features two of them at the same time.
"Obviously it's a luxury for us on offense," said quarterback Baker Mayfield. "Especially where they're at in pass protection knowledge of who they're supposed to pick up, and the more they learn…Rachaad has been really, really good at it. [After] year one for Bucky, the more comfortable he gets in that…They get out of the pass protection stuff quicker if they don't have anybody to pick up and they become just that free outlet.
"With those guys, obviously they can catch like receivers, but just getting the ball [to] them in space is ideal for us, whether it's screen game, checkdowns, or designed pass plays for them. So it's a luxury for us because it creates mismatches."