TAMPA, Fla. — Giovani Bernard is the latest addition to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the two sides agreed on a one-year deal, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissaro.
With Ronald Jones and Leonard Fournette already in the fold, what could Bernard bring to the Buccaneers’ offense?
Gio, a second-round pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2013, has been the ultimate team guy during his tenure with Cincinnati. He was never the feature back, never the leading rusher, and was constantly overlooked when the Bengals brought in two top running backs via the NFL Draft in a span of four years.
Being the afterthought to fellow backs like Jeremy Hill and Joe Mixon, Bernard carved out a nice niche for himself to be a vital part of the Bengals' offense. Never once leading the team in rushing during his eight seasons, Bernard became the third-down, pass-catching back that could make big plays with little space. He’s not going to blow you away with his speed or bowl you over with his strength, but he will utilize his impressive vision and quick cuts to make defenders miss and gain big yards.
As a pass-catcher, Bernard has a career 74.8% catch rate with 342 receptions, 2,867 yards, 11 touchdowns and 118 receptions that resulted in a first down. In 2020, his catch rate was the second-highest of his career at 79.7%. For a team that led the NFL in drops by running backs, Gio brings much-needed reliability in the passing game.
On top of that, Bernard’s ability to pick up streaking blitzers to buy his quarterback a little more time can’t be understated. Though the offensive line showed incredible improvement in 2020, a pass-blocking running back is still vital to a deep passing offense. Tom Brady and Bruce Arians want to move the ball down the field, using the speed of Scotty Miller and (possibly) Antonio Brown. In order to do so, there has to be someone back there to ensure an uncovered blitzer is slowed enough to give Brady time. Bernard fits that description beautifully.
Bernard is going to be what many believed LeSean McCoy was going to be in 2020. He will fill his role, maximize his opportunity, and give the Bucs one of the more sure-handed running backs in recent memory. As far as the future of the position is concerned, this absolutely does not remove the possibility of the Buccaneers drafting a running back high in this month’s NFL Draft. Beyond this season, it will still be just Ke’Shawn Vaughn under contract in 2022. There’s also no guarantee Vaughn makes the roster. The whole point of the draft is to get better at any position and if the Bucs have the choice between Najee Harris or Javonte Williams against Ke’Shawn Vaughn then they very well could opt for the upgrade.
As we’ve said before, the Bucs have no needs and can draft the best player available with every pick. As great as this signing of Giovani Bernard is, that doesn’t change the draft strategy one bit.
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