The Tampa Bay Buccaneers already know Bucky Irving can be among the NFL’s elite running backs — he proved as much during a bravura rookie season.
How he sustains that momentum moving forward might help determine the trajectory of the team as a whole over the next few years.
Headed into his sophomore season, Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder singled Irving out as the “Biggest Gem” from the NFL draft over the last 5 years.
Irving was a fourth round pick (No. 125 overall) out of Oregon in the 2024 NFL draft.
“The PFWA All-Rookie team selection proved a lot of doubters wrong last fall, ranking ninth among running backs with 57 forced missed tackles and topping the charts with 4.03 yards after contact per attempt, according to Pro Football Focus,” Holder wrote on June 23. “As a result, he led all rookies and had the 10th-most rushing yards (1,122) in 2024. That’s in addition to scoring eight touchdowns on the ground and contributing 392 receiving yards: 1,514 total yards from scrimmage … right now, there is no argument against the fourth-round pick who finished sixth in the Offensive Rookie of the Year voting and was the only non-first- or second-round pick to receive a vote.”
Irving, White Could Be NFL’s Best 1-2 RB Duo
What’s been lost in much of the praise for Irving is that Tampa Bay has another running back on the roster who could start for most NFL teams with Rachaad White, who has 18 touchdowns and over 1,000 yards from scrimmage each of the last 2 seasons.
Part of Irving’s success as a rookie came from White embracing the mentor role — something NFL teams will eat up when it comes to paying White in free agency after the 2025 season.
“The Bucs have a two-headed monster at running back heading into 2025,” Pewter Report’s Adam Slivon wrote on June 21. “Opposing defensive coordinators will have their work cut out for them as they look to contain a run game that combined to have 483 carries for 2,536 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns in 2024. Between Bucky Irving and Rachaad White, they did a lot of that damage, combining for 351 carries, 1,735 rushing yards, and 11 touchdowns.”
Irving Called One of NFL’s ‘Most Underrated Players’
Most NFL fans haven’t become familiar with Irving yet — another big season would do the trick.
Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport called Irving the NFL’s “Most Underrated Player” at running back headed into 2025.
“Irving didn’t enter the NFL with a ton of fanfare,” Davenport wrote on May 20. “The 5’10”, 195-pounder was the 125th overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft. But by the end of the season, he had established himself as one of the more promising young runners in the league.”
The upside for Irving might be turning into a player like New Orleans Saints superstar and 5-time Pro Bowler Alvin Kamara — one of the NFL’s elite running backs over the last decade.
From Buccaneers.com’s Brianna Dix: “Irving led all rookies in rushing yards (1,122) and rushing touchdowns (8), while averaging 5.4 yards per attempt. His 5.4 yards per carry marked the third-highest mark in NFL history among rookies with at least 200 rushing attempts in a season, trailing only Adrian Peterson (5.6 in 2007) and Clinton Portis (5.5 in 2002) … Irving added 47 receptions for 392 yards to total 1,514 yards from scrimmage. He became just the fourth rookie since 2018 to surpass 1,500 scrimmage yards, joining Puka Nacua (2023), Najee Harris (2022) and Saquon Barkley (2018).”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Buccaneers RB Called ‘Biggest NFL Draft Gem’ in Last 5 Years appeared first on Heavy Sports.