Leap to Elite: Is Bucky Irving Going From Stud to Superstar?

Bucky Irving was one of the biggest positive surprises of the 2024 season, entering as an afterthought or possible handcuff to Rachaad White, and finishing as one of the most impactful values at any position. Irving won’t surprise anyone this year with a strong campaign, but I’m going to take it a step further and say he establishes himself as one of the real elites at the position, and a 2026 first round pick.

White was the RB13 off the board in 2023, while Irving just snuck into the Top 200, as the RB59. White was entrenched as the starter coming off a gaudy, CMC-lite season in 2023, so all success and playing time Irving received was hard-earned. So for a player who only started three games in 2024, Irving’s season numbers are eye-popping. He finished 2024 in the Top 10 in rushing yards (1,122, 10th), yard from scrimmage (1,515, 8th) and in receiving yards (392, 9th). He did all this with a season-long snap rate of 45.2%, and he only saw 50% of the snaps or more six times, with a high of 71.6%. Efficiency was critical to this success, as Irving averaged 5.4 yards per rush and 8.3 yards per reception for Tampa Bay, maximizing the value of his touches. And when he did receive volume, Irving thrived.

When you dive into his game logs, you find that in the six games where Irving saw 50%+ of the snaps, he put up 80+ yards in five of them, and scored a touchdown in five of the games. Irving saw 12 or more carries in eight games, and he rushed for at least 60 yards every single time. Twice, Irving got 20+ carries, and both times he surpassed 110 rushing yards. Many times we can fall in love with a player’s efficiency in a limited role only to find that the efficiency fades when his volume increases. That was not Irving in 2024, as his efficiency held, and he just put up bigger and bigger numbers the more work he was given.

PFF loved Irving’s work, as he finished as the site’s No. 4 RB last year. Irving received grades of 90 or better in both rushing and receiving categories, the only player at the position to accomplish those marks in both categories. And he did all this behind a mediocre offensive line that graded 18th-best in run blocking. There’s more good news. While the Bucs’ coaching staff is taking big hits – their offensive coordinator has been poached for a head coaching gig elsewhere for the second straight season – the whole core of the offense is returning. QB Baker Mayfield is back, as are stud WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, ensuring that teams cannot stuff the box in an effort to shut down Irving.

Irving produced like this as a full platoon back. He will head into 2025 as the clear lead back, as evidenced by the spike in snap rate across the final three games of the season. As the bell cow for an offense that finished as a Top 5 offense in 2024, returning it’s full complement of key skill players, Irving should be able to outperform any ADP that isn’t Top 12. He could be an even bigger value with an incoming draft class that’s considered historically loaded with RBs. Assuming some big name rookies land in good spots, we could see Irving slide down draft lists due to the perceived time share with White. Not me. I’ll be drooling to draft Irving in Round 2.