The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have to wait a little longer to know what exactly they are getting from rookie running back Ronald Jones, but so far, the USC product has been among the biggest letdowns heading into the 2018 NFL season. Because if he is not, then he should not be wallowing behind Jacquizz Rodgers on the Bucs’ running back depth chart, as what Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times notes.

The Buccaneers spent a second-round pick on Jones in hopes that he would provide them a shot in the arm in the running game after finishing just 27th in the league in 2017 in terms of rushing yards per contest. But after four outings in the preseason in which Jones was only able to muster 22 rushing yards on 28 carries, the rookie has become a worrisome figure on the Bucs’ roster.

Such performance is part of any rookie’s growing pain in the pros, but the Bucs certainly expected a much better form from Jones than the one he showed in the preseason. His struggles have also paved the way for Peyton Barber to earn the starting role this season.

With Barber and Rodgers in front of him, Ronald Jones is going to find it hard to make an impact on the field. He should’ve done in during the summer and in the preseason, but those days are behind him. At the very least, Barber and Rodgers aren’t exactly top-tier running backs who have cemented their places atop the running back order in Tampa, so there’s still a chance that Jones will move up the pecking order sometime in the season.