Bucky Irving Fantasy Outlook 2025: Is Buccaneers RB a good pick after breakout rookie season?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving was arguably the No. 1 league winner of the 2024 fantasy football season. After being selected in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, Irving did not have major expectations in his rookie season and likely went unpicked in your fantasy draft last year.

However, if you were lucky enough to have added the talented Oregon alumni throughout the campaign on the waiver wire, your team was able to get RB1 level play for the majority of the year out of almost nowhere.

Irving started the season as the backup behind Rachaad White, something that quickly began to change in Week 6 against the New Orleans Saints. From that point onward, Irving averaged 16.9 PPR points per game for fantasy managers, a truly elite fantasy stat line.

Not only was Irving productive in fantasy football, but he showed the league his unique blend of elite speed, dynamic running, amazing vision, ability to break tackles, and pass catching upside. He finished the year with over 1,500 total yards and eight total touchdowns for the Buccaneers, firmly establishing himself as the team's RB1 heading into the 2025 season.

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Bucky Irving fantasy outlook after amazing rookie season

After an amazing rookie season, Irving is being projected as one of the top players in fantasy football this year. Fantasy Pros currently has Irving as the RB8 and No. 27 overall player available, something that would likely result in Irving being selected near the end of the third round of your draft this year.

Tampa Bay's offense is largely unchanged this year, with the exception being 2025 NFL Draft prospect WR Emeka Egbuka joining the unit. Irving has firmly established himself as the clear top option in the Buccaneers backfield. Tampa Bay was one of the highest-scoring and fantasy football relevant teams in the NFL last year, something that should not change this year based on skill and talent.

Irving can be viewed as a strong RB1 in fantasy football, with individual talent and the great situation around him paving the way for a path to the overall RB1 spot this year.

Edited by Joshua Gillesby