Last season Jacquizz Rodgers was a nice little addition to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. When Doug Martin and Charles Sims went down, Jacquizz came up. Not only did he help in their absence, he continued to help our running game in Martin’s return. He was a surprising asset which earned him a new contract.
However, he will face some stiff competition from rookie running back Jeremy McNichols. McNichols is explosive, in fact, out of the entire rookie running back class only Alvin Kamar was as explosive. Putting up 3,205 rushing yards in the span of 34 college games is a definite eye opener, but his pass blocking skills are what absolutely puts him over top Jacquizz Rodgers. With Doug Martin suspended the first few games of the season, we could see a surprise at starter, and that surprise could be McNichols, although, we cannot count Jacquizz Rodgers out just yet.
Charles Sims to is not out of the woods when it comes to the possibility of the rookie taking his job, as McNichols can catch coming out of the backfield and is just as explosive in that department, as he is on the ground. In his college career, McNichols recorded 103 catches for 1,089 yards and 11 touchdowns. Sims is a beast in that respects but since his injury, he is a huge question mark that will shortly be answered in the coming months. But the problem for Sims is that Jeremy McNichols is basically a better version of Sims and happened to begin his college career as a wide receiver.
All of last year’s Bucs running backs will have their eyes on the young man out of Boise State, and considering that Sims has been injured often in his three seasons with the Bucs, and has steadily declined in his ground game, he may have the most to lose before the regular season.
