NFC Notes: Rachaad White, Xavier Legette, Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers

Buccaneers

Tampa Bay RB Rachaad White nearly put up 1,000 yards in his breakout campaign in 2023. White plans to well exceed that mark this season and be the driving force behind an improved Buccaneers run game. 

“Obviously, my goal is to do whatever I can to help the team win,” White said, via The Rich Eisen Show. “We’ve been last, or 25th to last the past five or six years — I mean, even with the Super Bowl. When it comes to rushing, Tampa Bay has been down bad.”

“My goal, and what I expect me to do, is turn that around, and that’s to be top-10 to top-15, top-12, at the minimum. Obviously, there’s not been a 1,000-yard rusher here in, like, what, nine years, and obviously, I was 10 yards short of that last year. So I’m a make sure I’m not nearby short of that this year and go well over that 1,000 yards.”

Falcons 

Falcons S DeMarcco Hellams feels “underestimated” after being a seventh-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and wants to prove himself in the NFL. 

“I’m sure people have underestimated me,” Hellams said, via Terrin Wack of the team’s site. “I know it’s on me to go out there and prove what I’m capable of and prove who I am to myself.”

Falcons assistant HC Jerry Gray has been impressed by Hellams in their offseason program. 

“I thought DeMarcco did a fantastic job when he got his opportunity to go out there,” Gray said. “He played in space, made some tackles in space. Actually, he’s physical in the run game, which we like.”

Hellams thinks he exceeded some expectations for how he’d perform as a rookie last year but still has a lot of room t improve. 

“I was grateful for how my rookie year went out,” Hellams said. “I wouldn’t say I was happy because it didn’t end how I thought it would as a player or as a team. I never want to get caught up on being an individual. But I definitely think from what people may have expected from me as a rookie, I may have passed those. But for the expectations that I set for myself, I’m not going to lie, there’s a lot of things that I can get better at.”

Panthers

Panthers QB Bryce Young talked about adjusting to first-round WR Xavier Legette’s impressive physical makeup through their reps at spring practices. 

“That combination of size, speed, how explosive he is, the way he comes out of routes, it’s definitely something that I gotta get used to,” Young said, via ESPN. “We’re working on getting that timing down, but I’m super excited.”