Options considered at running back

TAMPA — Doug Martin is accustomed to getting knocked down as a running back, but this time he needed some help getting back up.

Suspended four games for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy in December, one week after he was benched for a critical game at New Orleans that the Bucs lost, Martin voluntarily sought help at an undisclosed rehab center and completed his stay in February. When coach Dirk Koetter and general manager Jason Licht met with Martin a week before the league's scouting combine, where they closely watched a deep collection of talented running backs, he was cleareyed and focused on the future.

“He looked good. He sounded good,” Koetter said. “I'm proud of Doug for taking steps to get his health back. Doug's under contract. He was going to head back out to California to train. We tell the players, come back in April and then we'll see where it goes from there."

Where Martin fits into the Bucs' plans is uncertain.

“Fortunately, we have some time to make that decision,” Licht said.

The decision will be much easier if the Bucs use a first- or second-round pick on a running back in the draft April 27-29. And make no mistake, the Bucs might be foolish not to take advantage of a deep pool of ball carriers, including three projected to go in the first round — Florida State's Dalvin Cook, LSU's Leonard Fournette and Stanford's Christian McCaffrey.

Koetter is on record saying he believes it's hard to feature two running backs. Tampa Bay re-signed Jacquizz Rodgers and returns Charles Sims and Peyton Barber. Some at One Buc Place sound excited to see Martin return to his old form. When healthy as a rookie and before his contract year in 2015, the former first-round pick from Boise State has been a 1,400-yard rusher.

“It will be great getting a guy like Doug back to where he was that will add to that explosion because we just didn't have that in the run game,” offensive coordinator Todd Monken said.