In his Wednesday visit to PFT Live, Buccaneers G.M. Mark Dominik addressed the role of second-year running back LeGarrette Blount in the team’s offense.
Though Cadillac Williams is gone and Earnest Graham remains listed as a fullback, Dominik said that a committee approach will be used in the running game. Kregg Lumpkin currently is listed as the backup to Blount.
Dominik said that LeGarrette Blount will get the bulk of the reps, but Graham and Lumpkin will also get their share of carries. Sporting News correspondent Roy Cummings recently reported that Graham is sliding back over to the tailback position, and that Graham, not Blount, will be the third-down back.
Last year, Blount got 201 carries, and Williams had 125. (Williams added 46 receptions, while Blount had only five.) Graham carried the ball 20 times for 99 yards and added 16 catches for 19 yards.
So while Blount has come so far that someone actually cast a ballot for him in the Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year vote, Blount’s ascent won’t include an Adrian Peterson/Chris Johnson quantity of opportunities to touch the ball.