When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took running back Bucky Irving in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, they likely did so with a workload split in mind. Tampa already had a young running back, Rachaad White, in the fold, and he performed well with his opportunities last season. White ran for nearly 1,000 yards and had six touchdowns last season in his first year as the Bucs primary running back.
Irving was likely drafted to come in and spell White at times, and give the Bucs a solid 1-2 punch at the position. However, with Irving’s performance in the preseason, those ideas may have changed. At least one NFL analyst, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, believes that Irving earned the chance to be a big factor in the Bucs offense this season.
In his latest training camp takeaways piece for Sports Illustrated, Breer singled out Irving as a player who impressed him this preseason, and whom he believes will be a factor for Tampa Bay. Breer didn’t go into specifics as to what he means by “a factor”, but Irving certainly has been impressive in his first training camp in the NFL.
The Bucs have a stable of talented running backs already, with White and last year’s undrafted free agent signing Sean Tucker, the latter of whom saw significant work in the offense this preseason. Tucker finished just outside the top 10 in rushing yards this preseason, at 11, with 120 yards on 21 attempts.
Irving will have his work cut out for him to make an impact on the team as a rookie, but Breer seems to believe in him and his ability to do so.