Bowles: Bucky Irving Has "Definitely Earned More Reps"

By Jared Smola | Updated on Mon, Sep 23 2024 5:26 PM UTC

Bucs HC Todd Bowles said Monday that RB Bucky Irving "has definitely earned more reps." Irving was out-snapped 42 to 18 by RB Rachaad White in the Week 3 loss to the Broncos. Bowles said that was due to his team playing from behind. White remains the preferred back in passing situations. But it sounds like that gap in snaps should shrink in the coming weeks.

2024 Fantasy Football Impact

Irving has out-played White in any rushing metric you look at through three weeks:

6.2 yards per carry to 2.1
4.0 yards after contact per attempt to 2.2
0.28 missed tackles forced per attempt to 0.13
-0.09 rush yards over expected per attempt to -1.49
68.4 Pro Football Focus rushing grade to 52.6

Despite the wide gap in snaps, Irving out-carried White 9 to 6 vs. the Broncos. It wouldn't be at all surprising if Irving tallies more carries than White over the remainder of the season.

White's stranglehold on the passing-down snaps will keep him on the fantasy radar and cap Irving's upside. But the rookie should be owned in basically all fantasy leagues at this point. He's looking like a weekly RB3 with the upside to climb higher.

Jared Smola, Lead Analyst

Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and in-season tools. He currently ranks ninth among 173 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.