The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hit a home run when they selected RB Bucky Irving out of Oregon in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Irving’s rookie stat totals of 1,122 rushing yards, 392 receiving yards, and eight scores look like great production — but one analyst points out how the advanced metrics tell an even better story for just how great Bucky was his rookie year.
Advanced Metrics Paint Elite Picture for Bucs RB Bucky Irving
Pick a stat… any stat…and it is likely to tell you that Bucky Irving was great for the Bucs’ offense in 2025.
Well, PFF NFL Analyst Nathan Jahnke found a stat that determines how many tackles he avoided per rushing attempt in 2024 that puts him amongst some of the best backs in the NFL.
Jahnke wrote, “Irving averaged 0.29 avoided tackles per attempt and 0.096 avoided tackles per route run, which were both the best among running backs last season. He also led the league in yards after contact per attempt (4.03) and the percentage of his carries that gained at least 30 yards (3.4%). He was incredible when the situations were less than ideal but struggled on zone runs.”
If the only Achilles heel on his profile was zone runs, then it simply leaves a small bit of room for improvement for Irving entering the 2025 NFL season.
Irving started the year working behind Rachaad White, but simply couldn’t be kept off the field because of his exceptional play around the midpoint of the season. This preference of Irving over White from this coaching staff became painfully obvious in the division-clinching over the New Orleans Saints in the season finale Irving out-touched White 21-to-0 to close the regular season.
Jahnke added, “By Week 10, he was an essential part of the Buccaneers’ offense, running at least 12 times each game, outside of one where he suffered an injury. Over the last five games, including the playoffs, he ran at least 15 times and caught at least two passes each week. In Week 18 and the wild-card round of the playoffs, the Buccaneers gave him a significant increase in snaps to 72% and 69%, respectively.”
How Will the Bucs Backfield Shake Out Under New OC Josh Grizzard?
The one unknown about Irving entering his second year in the NFL is how new Bucs OC Josh Grizzard intends to split the workload in the Tampa backfield in 2025.
Jahnke concluded, “The Buccaneers retained Rachaad White and Sean Tucker to be the backup and third-string running backs. In those last two games, Irving played nearly every snap on early downs, at the goal line and in short-yardage situations, while White played almost all of the third-down and two-minute drill snaps. Irving could be a better third-down back than White, but Tampa Bay will likely limit Irving’s snaps in some situations, and it might be on third downs, where running backs donât touch the ball as much relative to other situations. However, there is at least a chance we could see Irvingâs snaps exceed what we saw last season, particularly in highly competitive or more critical games.”
This may slightly open the door for White or Sean Tucker to make a case for a series or two a game, but it is hard to picture Irving not being the lead back in Tampa Bay entering the 2025 NFL season.
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