Strength in Numbers: Actionable Week 5 Stats

We’re going to get a lot of stuff wrong, but sifting through usage metrics can help us work through what matters and what doesn’t. That’s the goal of this article: to break down the most actionable takeaways from each week in a concise, numbers-filled format and work through what’s important. Let’s get right to it.

1. With both Jalen McMillan and Trey Palmer out, Sterling Shepard stepped into the WR3 role for Tampa Bay, running 22 routes on 30 Baker Mayfield dropbacks. The Tampa Bay WR3 role remained a low-volume one overall, as Shepard had just two targets. McMillan or Palmer will likely be back for TB’s next game, sending Shepard back to the bench.

2. Rachaad White played six of seven third downs as the primary pass-catching back; otherwise, it was a mostly even split for the Buccaneers. White out-carried Bucky Irving 10-9 and notched 72 yards on those carries (Irving had 44), marking the second straight game White had plus efficiency after averaging 2.1 yards per tote through the first three games of the year. Irving also lost a critical fumble that likely cost Tampa Bay the game, but Todd Bowles expressed faith in him postgame and went back to him on the next drive after the fumble, so it doesn’t seem like it will cost him much playing time.

3. Kyle Pitts went for 7/88/0, but he still finished fourth on Atlanta with eight targets for a 13.6% share. It’s a good sign to see increased efficiency from Pitts after failing to catch a ball in Week 4 and his eight targets seem awesome at first glance, but his target share was still poor with ATL throwing 59 times.