Bucky Irving Fantasy Overview

Production & Fantasy Finishes

Irving ran for 588 yards and 1 TD across 10 games last year. He added 30 catches for 277 yards and 3 scores.

He finished 18th among RBs in both PPR and half-PPR points per game.

Irving was much more productive before the Week 4 shoulder injury that cost him seven games, ranking RB8 through Week 4 with 18.5 PPR points per game but sinking to RB29 on 11.1 points per game from Week 13 on.

Usage & Role

Irving led the Bucs with 17.3 carries per game on a 59.2% share across his 10 games. That carry share ranked 10th among RBs on the season.

Irving ceded some passing-game work to Rachaad White but still averaged 3.5 targets on a 10.8% share across his 10 games. That target share ranked 13th among RBs.

The biggest issue for Irving last year was a lack of work near the goal line. He carried just six times inside the 10-yard line and didn’t get a single carry inside the 5.

That dropped Irving to RB17 in expected PPR points per game.

It’s worth noting that Irving’s usage took a hit post-injury, particularly in the passing game. Here are the splits:

Efficiency & Regression

Irving was one of the least effective runners in the league last year. Among 51 RBs with 90+ carries, he ranked:

• 51st in yards
• 50th in rush yards over expected per attempt
• 51st in yards after contact per attempt
• 28th in missed tackles forced per attempt
• 46th in Pro Football Focus rush grade

Irving was slightly better before that shoulder injury. His 0.211 missed tackles forced per attempt over his first four games would have ranked 12th among those 51 RBs, but his 2.39 yards after contact would have ranked 49th.

Irving was significantly better in the passing game. He ranked eighth in yards per route and 14th in PFF receiving grade among 40 RBs with 30+ targets.

Offensive Context

The 2025 Buccaneers finished:

• 13th in plays
• 21st in total yards
• 25th in yards per play
• 18th in points

It was a balanced offense in terms of play calling, ranking 17th in pass rate and 18th in pass rate over expected.

Irving ran behind an offensive line that struggled in run blocking. Tampa Bay ranked:

• 25th in PFF run-blocking grade
• 27th in ESPN run-block win rate
• 22nd in adjusted line yards

Historical Production & Trends

Irving turned in an awesome rookie season, running for 1,122 yards and 8 TDs and tacking on another 392 yards on 47 catches. He finished RB20 in PPR points per game.

Irving was much more efficient on the ground in 2024. He averaged 5.4 yards per carry, led all 47 qualifying RBs in yards after contact per attempt, and ranked sixth in rush yards over expected per attempt.

He was also good as a receiver, ranking sixth in yards per route and second in PFF receiving grade among 37 RBs with 30+ targets. Irving’s 7.7 career yards per target ranks third among 43 RBs with 50+ targets over the last two seasons.

That all followed a productive college career. Irving finished second in rushing yards as a true freshman at Minnesota, then transferred to Oregon and racked up 2,283 rushing yards on 6.5 yards per carry over the next two years. He also caught 87 balls across those two seasons.

Irving dropped to the fourth round of the 2024 draft because of shaky measurables. He checked into the Combine at 192 pounds and registered a 4.55-second 40 time with a 25th-percentile broad jump and fourth-percentile vertical.

Injury History & Durability

Irving suffered a partially dislocated shoulder and sprained foot in Week 4 last year. He missed the next seven games before returning for the final six.

But Irving needed offseason surgery on the shoulder and was sidelined until June minicamp. His status bears monitoring throughout the summer.

Irving played all 17 games as a rookie, although he missed the second half of Week 14 with a back injury.

He had no significant injuries in college.

Projected Role & Competition

The Buccaneers swapped out Rachaad White for Kenneth Gainwell this offseason. White averaged just 5.1 carries and 1.9 targets across Irving’s 10 games last year.

Tampa Bay let White walk in free agency and gave Gainwell a two-year, $14 million deal, so the Bucs clearly view him as an upgrade. That makes Gainwell a good bet for more work than White got last year. Gainwell particularly looks like a threat on passing downs coming off a 73-catch season for the Steelers.

HC Todd Bowles called Irving the 1A and Gainwell the 1B in March.

Bowles on Gainwell in mid-June:

“He brings a 1-2 punch with Bucky Irving, obviously. He played very well last year, he’s played very well his whole career. He can catch the ball, he can block, he can run. He brings a speed element and an attitude element.”

The Bucs also return RB Sean Tucker on a restricted free-agent tender. He carried just 24 times in Irving’s 10 games last year, but seven of those came inside the 5-yard line. Tucker is a threat to steal goal-line carries from Irving again this year.

Supporting Cast

The Buccaneers return QB Baker Mayfield and WRs Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin to lead the passing game. They lost WR Mike Evans, who averaged 9.0 TDs over his 12 seasons in Tampa Bay. That could turn some red-zone plays from passes into runs this year, although that’s unlikely to help Irving if he continues to lose those goal-line carries.

The Bucs return all five starters from last year’s offensive line. Although the group wasn’t great in run blocking last year, the personnel and continuity give it a chance to take a step forward in 2026.

Coaching & Offensive Scheme

The Buccaneers canned OC Josh Grizzard after the season, replacing him with Zac Robinson.

Robinson spent five seasons working under Sean McVay in Los Angeles before serving as Falcons OC for the last two. Both of Robinson’s Atlanta offenses leaned run:

Robinson is expected to bring more zone rushing concepts to Tampa Bay, based on both his time under McVay and scheme in Atlanta.

That might not be good news for Irving. He was slightly more efficient on zone runs than man/gap runs last year but much better on man/gap runs as a rookie. Through two NFL seasons, he’s averaged 5.0 yards per carry on man/gap runs vs. just 3.7 on zone runs.

Paths To Ceiling

If Irving can rediscover his rookie-year rushing efficiency, he shouldn’t have a problem holding off Gainwell for lead ball-carrying duties. And he’s been an efficient pass catcher in both of his NFL seasons.

The key to hitting a ceiling will be winning back a goal-line role. If he can do that, Irving could flirt with RB1 production.

Risk Factors

Irving is coming off a woefully inefficient rushing season, had offseason shoulder surgery, and faces increased competition from Gainwell.

He could find himself in a full-on committee, losing passing-down work to Gainwell and goal-line carries to Tucker. That’d leave Irving as no better than a RB3 or flex play.