Why Bucky Irving has a better case for Rookie of the Year than you think

With Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix duking it out for odds on favorite for the Rookie of the Year award, it's easy to forget what an outstanding first-year Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving is displaying.

For what it’s worth, the award has not gone to a running back since 2018, when Saquon Barkley won it. There’s a steep chance of that changing, but if it does Bucky Irving deserves to be the one to get it.

Coming out of college, many scouting reports mentioned that his lack of size, with a 5'9 "192-pound frame, would severely limit his ability to be a lead back at the next level. Although scouts did recognize his quick feet and elusiveness in the open field, he fell all the way to the fifth round and would be projected as a solid change of pace running back.

After many dubbed him "too small" to be a lead back before the 2024 draft, rookie running back Bucky Irving has turned heads and has been one of the bright spots on a depleted Bucs team.

Bucky Irving deserves to be in the Rookie of the Year conversation

When the 2024 season began, Rashaad White was the undisputed lead back after a solid 2023 campaign. The one knock on White was his lack of efficiency regarding yards per carry.

However, Irving displayed incredible vision and ability to make guys miss from the jump. In Week 1, he would record nine carries for 62 yards with an average of 6.9 yards per carry. Fast forward to Week 14, and Irving is now the clear RB1 for the Buccaneers and has heavily contributed to the team being in the hunt for the playoffs despite missing some of their most important players.

His knock of not being able to play through contact has been quickly debunked. The former Oregon Duck is seventh in yards after contact per attempt among all running backs. That's ahead of Saquon Barkley, Jahmyr Gibbs, Derrick Henry, and J.K. Dobbins.

Irving has one of his best performance of the season in Week 13 against the Carolina Panthers when the offense desperately needed it. He carried the ball 25 times for 152 yards, a rushing touchdown, and three receptions for 33 yards. He did all of that while dealing with a hip injury and was seen limping to the locker room after the win.

The best part is that he leads all rookies in yards from scrimmage with 1,017 and is over 100 yards ahead of Brock Bowers, who is next on the list.

Something else that works in his favor is what the offense looks like without him. Irving left Sunday’s win over the Raiders with a hip injury and it threw off the entire flow of Liam Coen’s playcalling for a large portion of the game. Things eventually evened out but the absence of Bucky was absolutely felt.

While Daniels or Nix will likely win the award with their stellar play and respective teams being in the middle of the playoff picture, you can't ignore Irving's significant impact on this offense.

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