There was a lot of unknown coming into this season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers regarding their running back’s room. Coming off a season where Rachaad White carried an overwhelming amount of rushes, but also had this offense ranked 32nd in yards per carry, it was obvious that the rushing attack would be a point of focus.
Well, when they drafted Bucky Irving in the fourth round of the 2024 draft, it was unbeknownst to Tampa Bay management that they fixed their offensive rushing issues in an instant. Coming out of Oregon, there wasn’t a huge crowd of Bucs’ fans who would’ve thought Irving would come in and have the instant impact he’s had, but it’s the current reality we’re living in.
In week thirteen’s game against the Carolina Panthers, the Buccaneers’ rookie rusher expanded on his solid rookie season, with an award-winning performance. With a season-high 25 rushing attempts, Bucky Irving got in a groove early and kept it going as the game went on. Highlighted by a huge 43-yard run that included a major stiff arm that broke Irving free into open space, Irving averaged over six yards per carry and even caught three passes for 33 receiving yards.
A clutch six-yard touchdown run by Irving in the fourth quarter would help push Tampa Bay into the lead for the time being. Following Vita Vea into the end zone, it seems offensive coordinator Liam Coen is putting all-hands-on-deck when it comes to goal line snaps and getting into the end zone.
The Bucs rookie back is showing true signs of being a great player. His statistics so far in rookie year will only tell so much of the story, but if you’ve seen his increase of usage and impact throughout the year, it isn’t hard to believe that Irving only needs 268 total rushing yards on the season to surpass 1,000 rushing yards, a feat that hasn’t been done in Tampa since Doug Martin did it in 2015.
There was a lot of unknown coming into this season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers regarding their running back’s room. Coming off a season where Rachaad White carried an overwhelming amount of rushes, but also had this offense ranked 32nd in yards per carry, it was obvious that the rushing attack would be a point of focus.
Well, when they drafted Bucky Irving in the fourth round of the 2024 draft, it was unbeknownst to Tampa Bay management that they fixed their offensive rushing issues in an instant. Coming out of Oregon, there wasn’t a huge crowd of Bucs’ fans who would’ve thought Irving would come in and have the instant impact he’s had, but it’s the current reality we’re living in.
In week thirteen’s game against the Carolina Panthers, the Buccaneers’ rookie rusher expanded on his solid rookie season, with an award-winning performance. With a season-high 25 rushing attempts, Bucky Irving got in a groove early and kept it going as the game went on. Highlighted by a huge 43-yard run that included a major stiff arm that broke Irving free into open space, Irving averaged over six yards per carry and even caught three passes for 33 receiving yards.
A clutch six-yard touchdown run by Irving in the fourth quarter would help push Tampa Bay into the lead for the time being. Following Vita Vea into the end zone, it seems offensive coordinator Liam Coen is putting all-hands-on-deck when it comes to goal line snaps and getting into the end zone.
The Bucs rookie back is showing true signs of being a great player. His statistics so far in rookie year will only tell so much of the story, but if you’ve seen his increase of usage and impact throughout the year, it isn’t hard to believe that Irving only needs 268 total rushing yards on the season to surpass 1,000 rushing yards, a feat that hasn’t been done in Tampa since Doug Martin did it in 2015.
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