Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Backfield is a Fantasy Nightmare Heading Into 2019 NFL Season

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have continued to be underachievers year after year, and despite the addition of Bruce Arians as the new head coach, many wonder if it will be the same old Buccaneers. There have been notable additions to the team, however the backfield continues to be a nightmare.

There were high expectations for rookie Ronald Jones II last season after he was selected in the second round out of USC. With relatively low competition for touches, he lost out on his positional battles, totaling just 23 rushes for 44 yards and a touchdown last season. The Bucs' general manager, Jason Licht, said Jones has impressed the coaching staff this spring, which could be why Arians said that he likes the current backfield despite not having a star.

The player who won the lead back role last season is Peyton Barber, but that does not mean he was good. Barber finished the season with 871 rushing yards on 234 attempts, and he contributed just 92 receiving yards. Despite starting all 16 games last season, he still finished as the 26th-ranked running back for fantasy.

Other expected contributors to this backfield include Shaun Wilson, Dare Ogunbowale and Andre Ellington, who has experience with Arians in Arizona. With no star, relatively little success in the league and a new coaching staff, the slate is clean for all five of these backs, which makes for one of the most underwhelming backfields in the league today.

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