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Tampa Bay Buccaneers top breakout players for 2018

By Sayre Bedinger

ORCHARD PARK, NY - OCTOBER 22: O.J. Howard #80 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers scores a touchdown during the fourth quarter of an NFL game against the Buffalo Bills on October 22, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
ORCHARD PARK, NY - OCTOBER 22: O.J. Howard #80 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers scores a touchdown during the fourth quarter of an NFL game against the Buffalo Bills on October 22, 2017 at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
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SANTA CLARA, CA – DECEMBER 01: Ronald Jones II #25 of the USC Trojans fights off the tackle of Justin Reid #8 of the Stanford Cardinal to score on an 8-yard touchdown run during the Pac-12 Football Championship Game at Levi’s Stadium on December 1, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA – DECEMBER 01: Ronald Jones II #25 of the USC Trojans fights off the tackle of Justin Reid #8 of the Stanford Cardinal to score on an 8-yard touchdown run during the Pac-12 Football Championship Game at Levi’s Stadium on December 1, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Ronald Jones, Running Back

The Buccaneers have gotten fairly lucky in recent years with top-flight playmakers falling into their laps in the NFL Draft.

In 2018, they were fortunate to be able to snag USC’s Ronald Jones with the 38th overall pick despite many believing he would go at the back end of the first round.

Jones was compared to Jamaal Charles at USC where he showed off his abilities as a slasher in the run game with big speed, vision, and pass catching ability.

Averaging 6.1 yards per carry in his three seasons at USC, Jones is a big play threat every time he touches the ball, and he’s entering a really favorable situation with the Buccaneers behind an offensive line that also has some star power.

The Buccaneers, as of last season, have no identity in their running game. Charles Sims led the position group in snaps, and that was less than 35 percent of the team’s total in 2017.

Jones is stepping into a great situation to produce at a high level early.

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