Dyslexia and ADHD haven't kept former Auburn standout Peyton Barber from becoming the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' top option at running back for the 2018 season.

Dyslexia is a condition in which the brain can have difficulty interpreting letters, words and symbols, making reading harder. ADHD, or attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, is a brain condition that is just as it's described, with sufferers struggling to focus.

Barber received an ADHD diagnosis in middle school, but it wasn't until he got to Auburn that his dyslexia was diagnosed.

The conditions don't mean those with the problems can't learn, but they face hurdles that those without them do not, and sometimes they learn more effectively in different ways.

ESPN's Jenna Laine detailed how Barber has dealt with his disorders in his two NFL seasons for espn.com. Despite his conditions, Barber has persevered to make sure he knows his assignments as a runner, receiver and blocker in the Buccaneers' playbook.

"I don't really see it as a challenge, to be honest," Barber said. "... I don't see it as a disability; I see it as an ability. I see it as something special and unique in many ways. Yeah, I may learn differently, but at the same time, I'm thriving."

Tampa Bay running backs coach Tim Spencer said practice and walk-throughs were particularly important for Barber in learning the Bucs' offense.

"Some people can get things with classroom only," Spencer said. "But he's certainly got to be in it, see it and let it happen."

Bobby Bentley told Laine that also was true at Auburn. Now the running-backs coach at South Carolina, Bentley served as an offensive analyst at Auburn during the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

"Nobody really knows this, but we would meet in the indoor facility and walk through plays from hash to hash," Bentley said. "He became very knowledgeable about what to do based on our step-throughs and our walk-throughs. ... What was great about Peyton is that he absorbed it all. He was a sponge. I was able to pour myself into him because he wanted it."

At Auburn, Barber got 10 rushing attempts in his first season, then ran for 1,017 yards and 13 touchdowns in his second. After the 1,000-yard campaign, he declared for the NFL Draft with the stated purpose of helping his mother get a place to live.

Even though he participated in the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine, Barber went undrafted about two months later. He latched on with the Buccaneers as a free agent, earned a place on the practice squad, got a quick callup to the active roster and played in 15 games as a rookie.

Barber ran for 223 yards and one touchdown on 55 carries and caught five passes for 28 yards in 2016.

Barber was one of five Tampa Bay players with 50 rushing attempts during his rookie season as the Bucs dealt with an injury to running back Doug Martin. Martin missed half the season after rushing for 1,402 yards and earning All-Pro honors in 2015. He ran for 421 yards and averaged 2.9 yards per carry in eight games in 2016.

Martin missed the first four games of the 2017 season on suspension for violating the NFL policy on performance-enhancing drugs. When he returned, Martin wasn't any more effective than he had been in 2016, finishing with 406 rushing yards and another 2.9-yards-per-carry average in 2017.

Headed toward a disappointing 5-11 record, Tampa Bay gave Barber a chance to play regularly in December, and the 225-pound back gave the Bucs something to consider as they make their plans for 2018.

In Tampa Bay's first 11 games of 2017, Barber played 69 snaps with the Bucs' offense, ran for 88 yards on 30 carries and caught four passes for 31 yards. In the final five games of 2017, he played 185 offensive snaps, ran for 335 yards on 78 carries and caught 12 passes for 83 yards.

The surge allowed Barber to finish as the Bucs' leading rusher with 423 yards.

Because Martin is due to command a $6.75 million salary in 2018 and the Bucs can release him without owing him any money, he's widely expected to be cut in the next month.

"I think he will be right there," Tampa Bay coach Dirk Koetter said after the season about Barber's chances to be the Bucs' top running back in 2018. "I think that will definitely be a consideration. Peyton did a good job with his opportunities this year.

"You're going to be looking to improve your football team across the board. If recent history in the NFL has shown anything, it has shown that good running backs can come out of nowhere. Just look around the league: There are running backs that you've never heard of in college that are doing well in the NFL. I do think Peyton did a nice job with his opportunities, and he has definitely steadily improved his whole time in the NFL."

Tampa Bay holds the seventh choice in the 2018 NFL Draft. With Penn State's Saquon Barkley the only running back generally acclaimed as a sure-fire first-rounder and projected to be picked before the Bucs get their first chance, it should be the second round or later before Tampa Bay adds a rookie running back to its roster.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.