As another season officially comes to an end, there plenty for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to celebrate. It’s more than just the fact that the team won a fourth straight NFC South title and punched a playoff ticket for the fifth consecutive season; the young talent the Bucs have been developing has flourished in a way that has laid a strong foundation for the future.
Jason Licht nailed another fantastic draft class, one led by running back Bucky Irving. He was a Day 3 pick but ended up not only being the team’s most exciting rookie but managed to take the league by storm as well.
Bucky earned top billing out of the Buccaneers backfield, providing a spark seemingly whenever the offense needed one. He finished the year with over 1,500 total yards and has positioned himself to likely takeover as the teams RB1 next year. The hype train has left the station, and it’s one that national media members have a first class ticket for.
Bucky Irving nearly finished with enough votes to be a Rookie of the Year finalist
Despite his incredible first season, Bucky didn’t have nd up as a finalist for Offensive Rookie of the Year. It wasn’t much of a race, as Jayden Daniels had seemingly locked the award up halfway through his own incredible rookie year, but the exclusion of Irving among the finalists was notable.
We finally know just how close he came to making the cut.
After Daniels was announced as the winner, the AP released the final voting tally which revealed just how close Bucky came to being a finalist. He finished with 31 points, which was 20 shy of Malik Nabers but triple what Drake Maye had right behind him in seventh place.
Bucky ended up without a first or second place vote, but one writer did write him in at third place.
AP Offensive Rookie of the Year voting
— Rob Maaddi (@RobMaaddi) February 7, 2025
Jayden Daniels 49-1-0-0-0: 495
Brock Bowers 1-32-11-5-1: 214
Bo Nix 0-15-21-7-1: 153
Brian Thomas 0-2-8-15-18: 82
Malik Nabers…
Irving would have had a chance to be the first Buccaneers rookie to win th award since Cadillac Williams took home the trophy after the 2005 season. It always seemed to be Daniels’ award to lose, but it’s at least nice knowing that Irving got more love for all that he did than what the finalist snub suggested.
Still, he wasn’t in the podium and that’s something that plays nicely into the team’s gritty underdog identity. Irving already showed us what he could do when he was overlooked as a draft prospect and it’s hard to believe he won’t be extra motivated by being left out to the conversation as the best offensive rookie of his class.
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