Jameis Winston: Buccaneers RB Ronald Jones Improving After Struggling as Rookie

Ronald Jones was largely anonymous in his rookie season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but Jameis Winston doesn't envision that happening again in 2019.

"I would say RoJo has been showing out," Winston said of the running back, per The Athletic's Greg Auman. "His confidence, his comfort, RoJo's a smart guy. He's getting comfortable in this offense. No one is breathing down his neck. He's more relaxed and executing at a high level."

Winston added he sees Jones making "drastic improvements" on the field.

The Buccaneers selected Jones with the 38th overall pick of the 2018 draft, making him the fifth running back off the board. The former USC star appeared in just nine games, running for 44 yards and a touchdown while catching seven passes for 33 yards.

Some of Jones' struggles could be down to coaching, though. During Dirk Koetter's first three years on the staff—first as offensive coordinator in 2015 and then head coach in 2016 and 2017—the team ranked 11th, 30th and 25th in running offense DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average), per Football Outsiders.

Now, Bruce Arians is in charge. Arians has built a reputation as a quarterback specialist, but he also helped David Johnson go from a promising rookie to an All-Pro running back in 2016 with the Arizona Cardinals.

Arians spoke highly of Jones' work in practice earlier this offseason.

"We can still see his vision," he told reporters. "RoJo made a couple of really nice cutbacks today. We don't run a ball a lot in these periods. Maybe we had nine running plays today, but he took full advantage of his, that's for sure."

Expecting Jones to have a rise similar to that of Johnson is probably too optimistic. Based on Winston's and Arians' assessments, fans shouldn't be surprised to see him not only overtake Peyton Barber for the starting job but also become a productive presence on the ground for the Bucs.