Who Will Win the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Running Back Battle?

The Buccaneers gambled big when they selected quarterback Jameis Winston with the first overall pick of this year's draft. They took a greater risk keeping last year's running back group intact, saddling Winston with one of the NFL's worst rushing offenses of 2014.

The battle for the Bucs running back position isn't merely a matter of which player starts. The Bucs are determining which of their tailbacks is best suited to take the heat off Jameis Winston in his rookie year.

Last year, the Bucs offense was, well, offensive. The loss of offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford not only threw the offense off track, but it removed the tracks altogether.

The run game suffered more than the pass offense, ranking at the bottom in practically every category.

Bucs 2014 Rush Rankings

	Attempts	Yards	Attempts per Game	Yards per Game	Yards per Attempt	Total Touchdowns
Season Total	353	1375	22.1	85.9	3.9	7
League Rank	31st	29th	31st	29th	22nd (T)	27th (T)

Stats from NFL.com.

The poor total yardage and yards per game and attempt are obvious indicators of a bad rush attack, but it's the low number of attempts that shows how little faith the Bucs coaching staff had in the run game.

But who's to blame? There's plenty to go around, but there's a reason why the Bucs left their running back stable unchanged while jettisoning offensive tackle Anthony Collins and drafting offensive linemen in the second and third rounds of this year's draft.

The front office must believe that their running woes began with the absence of their offensive coordinator and the shoddy offensive line.

The three running backs in the running to win the starting spot, Doug Martin, Charles Sims and Bobby Rainey, each has his own advantages and flaws. Talent, history and draft status all have parts to play in determining the likely victor.

Martin comes with first-round pedigree and a Pro Bowl rookie season, but it's all been downhill since then. A shoulder injury in 2013 ended his season after only six games, while an ankle injury kept him out of five games in 2014.

Martin's regression is maddening. He went from being the third-best running back at breaking tackles in 2012 to being tied for third-worst in 2014, according to Football Outsiders.

Brian Blanco/Associated Press

It could be that Martin was an all-too-common one-year-wonder. That's likely why the Bucs chose not to exercise his fifth-year option this offseason.

The Bucs can't be sold on the notion that Martin's washed up yet if they kept him around at all. He has more big play potential than any other tailback on the team.

While Martin averaged only 3.7 yards per attempt in 2014, he also provided the Bucs' longest run of the season of 63 yards, far better than Rainey's 31-yard and Sims' 20-yard runs.

Sims and Rainey trail Martin in the raw-talent department, which was last exhibited in 2012. A return to his rookie form would win Martin the starting job.

Sims is the runner-up in the event of Martin's re-emergence. One of the perks of being drafted by the Bucs' current administration with a third-round pick is that he will remain near the top of the pecking order.

Sims had injury problems in 2014 too, starting the season on the physically unable to perform list with a broken ankle. His return did little to remedy the Bucs' running problems. Sims averaged only 2.8 yards per carry for a total 186 yards in eight games.

Sims' real strength comes in the pass game, where he's basically another receiver. He was easily a better receiver than Martin, catching 19 passes for 190 yards to Martin's 13 receptions for just 64 yards.

What may leave Sims stuck in a third-down back role is his apparent aversion to running between the tackles. He goes down pretty quickly after first contact and appears more comfortable in the open field, juking linebackers out of their shoes:

Courtesy of @bubbaprog

Sims is certainly elusive, but he needs to be able to initiate contact and pick up additional ground. Offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter has a history with bulkier or more compact running backs like Steven Jackson and Maurice Jones-Drew, both of whom were effective up-the-gut backs. Sims may end up on the sidelines during the early downs.

Sims is going to get every opportunity to win the starting job given his draft status. With the Bucs passing on Martin's option, the Bucs sent a clear signal that they are ready to move forward with Sims, the only Bucs running back signed through 2017, per Over the Cap. 

The dark horse in the Bucs' running back contest is Bobby Rainey. The former undrafted free agent might be the most reliable tailback on the roster.

Rainey doesn't have exceptional speed or power. It's his vision and decisiveness that makes him so effective. He hits gaps hard and without hesitation, exhibiting trust in his blockers and the play call:

Courtesy of the Fantasy Fix

Rainey is better than Sims and Martin in making the most out of a poor situation, as he averaged 4.3 yards per carry last year to Sims' 2.8 and Martin's 3.7 YPC.

What Rainey lacks is pure playmaking ability. His reliability belies a ceiling lower than that of Martin or Sims. It's what makes him an ideal backup but a poor starter.

The final X-factor in the running back battle is pass protection. All three backs struggled to pick up pass-rushers last year, each earning negative pass-blocking grades for the season from Pro Football Focus.

Picking up blitzers and chipping edge-rushers will be vital for whoever wins the job. While Jameis Winston brings exceptional pocket awareness, he can't evade every defender and needs a running back who can reliably delay the pass rush.

Pro Football Focus graded Sims better than either Martin or Rainey in pass protection, which is unsurprising given his comfort with the passing game. Even if he isn't the best runner between the tackles, Sims could win the majority of snaps on his ability to pass-block alone.

Ultimately, the Bucs will have to utilize all three backs, either to ward off injury or because of it. Still, the Bucs will find a running back in which to place their trust with the starting role, and that trust will likely start and end with their impact on Jameis Winston.