Should I drop Bucky Irving? Fantasy Football projections for Buccaneers RB

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Bucky Irving had a dominant breakout as a rookie in 2024, rushing for over 1,100 yards and scoring eight touchdowns. He outperformed erstwhile-lead back Rachaad White, who himself had been dominant as a sophomore in 2023 with over 1,500 yards from scrimmage, including ten short of a thousand on the ground.

After a rather inauspicious start to the 2025 season that saw him have fewer than 40 yards in the opener, he was simply explosive, having at least 60 yards in the next three games. However, he has since missed three straight games because of foot and shoulder injuries, and his absence will fully cover the entirety of this month after head coach Todd Bowles announced on Wednesday that he would not be playing at the New Orleans Saints this coming Sunday:

The good news is that the Buccaneers will enter their bye week afterward, allowing White to be fully healed by next month. The bad news is that it will also give his peers a chance to surpass him on fantasy rosters.

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Bucky Irving's fantasy football projections for rest of 2025 season

Philadelphia Eagles v Tampa Bay Buccaneers - NFL 2025 - Source: Getty

At 5'10" and under 200 pounds, Bucky Irving is the perfect definition of a FLEX player. Fantasy owners can slot him as either a running back or a (slot) receiver, or even as a returner.

The problem is that even with the losses of him and wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, the Buccaneers still have plenty of scoring options. There is the aforementioned Rachaad White, who has been inconsistent so far - vacillating between double-digit breakouts and single-digit miseries in fantasy - but may take advantage of his fellow rusher's absence to show why he was the lead back from 2022 to 2024.

Another running back, Sean Tucker, has not seen much playing time at that position, but he has been vital in returns. Moving to the subject of wide receivers, rookie Tez Johnson may break out in White's stead at the FLEX position, having seen his usage increase since Week 4. He might even be used on special teams - something that has not happened since he was in college.

While losing Irving is a sizable blow to the Buccaneers' offense, they still have enough offensive options, like the aforementioned names, wideouts Emeka Egbuka and Sterling Shepard, and tight end Cade Otton, that continuing to dominate the NFC South is within the realm of possibility.

Edited by Andre Castillo