The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 2024 season is now complete after the team dropped their Wild Card round matchup against the Washington Commanders. Despite the pain that comes with getting knocked out of the playoffs, the season can’t, and shouldn’t, be looked at as a failure as there was much to celebrate throughout the season.
The Bucs recorded their fourth straight NFC South title and have done so by incorporating veteran leadership along with talented youth to do so after going all-in during the Tom Brady years. General manager Jason Licht and company have done a great job of meshing the roster for what fits best for the culture of Tampa Bay and this past season they seemed to have found a gem in the fourth round of the draft in running back Bucky Irving.
With the year Irving put together he has started to earn the attention of those around the NFL world and his rookie performance helped him earn ESPN’s Fantasy Focus award for Waiver Wire Add of the Year in fantasy football, finishing ahead of Cleveland Browns’ wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, fellow rookie and former collegiate teammate Denver Broncos’ Bo Nix, and veteran Miami Dolphins’ tight end Jonnu Smith.
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Irving was selected by the Buccaneers with the 125th pick of this past offseason’s NFL draft and boy is he looking like a steal. To begin the season, Irving was the second-string back, relieving starter Rachaad White from time to time. However, as the season progressed, it became apparent that Irving required more touches with his electrifying style of play and impressive field vision. Following the team’s bye week, we finally got to see what Irving was made of and he dramatically exploded onto the scene.
Irving finished the season with a total of 1,122 rushing yards on 207 carries with 8 touchdowns and added another 392 yards through the air with 47 receptions. Irving’s numbers aren’t all that eye-popping, but when you take into account the fact he was a backup for the majority of the season with limited playing time, it starts to put things into perspective.
Irving will look to retain his starting role in 2025 and will surely be one of the most sought-after backs in fantasy next season as he finished the 2024 season as the 14th-ranked running back in standard and half-PPR (point per reception) formats while finishing 13th in PPR leagues.
