| Name | Mar’Keise ‘Bucky’ Irving |
| Team | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| Position | Running Back |
| Age | 23 |
| Draft capital | Round 4 (2024) |
Introduction
Bucky Irving, a fantasy league winner in 2024 who came in hot once he got the start in Tampa Bay. This caused for his draft capital to be very high in 2025, but is he able to convert his draft capital?
Player Snapshot
Let’s start with the bad news, Bucky missed a lot of the 2025 season due to injury. He has only played 4 games of the possible 9. For his stats, we are going to look at these 4 games.
| Metric | Value | 2025 Rank (per game base) |
| Games played | 4 | |
| Carries | 71 (17.75 / game) | #2 |
| Rushing Yards | 237 (59.25 / game) | #5 |
| Yards / Carry | 3.34 | #46 |
| Rushing TDs | 0 | #NR |
| Targets | 19 (4.75 / game) | #4 |
| Receiving Yards | 193 (48.25 / game) | #3 |
| Receiving TDs | 2 (0.5 / game) | #1 |
Recent Performance
Yes, Irving only has 4 weeks of data, but the per game metrics in this span don’t lie. With the exception of yards/carry and rushing touchdowns, he is inside the top-5 for every metric. Because we are already over half of the regular season, we can see he didn’t play particular bad defenses that help bump his metrics. He played the #1 defense in Houston, Falcons, Jets and Eagles.
Outside of his rushing metrics, he also is the #4 in targets and #3 in receiving yards per game. Especially for PPR, this makes him a very valuable fantasy asset. Yes, it looks like last year’s breakout was not a one-season-wonder. His big issue, though, is his health. Can he keep up these metrics when he plays a whole season, or do we see a dip when the season goes on.
Context
When he is healthy, Bucky is the clear #1 running back. Last year, he overtook Rachaad White and this season it was clear Bucky is the #1. Even with the talent behind him in White and Tucker, he would get enough opportunities to be a clear RB1.
So, how does the rest of the 2025 season look? Well, Bucky is expected to play again in week 13, meaning he will get around 5 weeks of fantasy production for fantasy managers. These 5 weeks, he will play Arizona, the Saints, Falcons, Panthers and Dolphins in the fantasy championship week. Is this a good schedule? No, this is a GREAT schedule! The worst opponent for running backs are the Saints, who are still a bottom half against running backs. If he’s back and will not split time, he’s a fantasy league winner.
But yeah, if he’s back is the catch phrase. Since week 5 he’s injured with both shoulder and foot injuries. When he’s back, we have to watch and see how he will perform back from a possible 7 weeks absence. With Bucky, injuries are a lot more likely, due to his smaller size. We have seen this in 2024 and now in 2025 again.
Fantasy takeaways
The part you are probably most interested about, what does all this data mean for Irving, and how should you approach this?
✅Opportunities
- Irving is, when healthy, the clear #1 RB in Tampa Bay
- The strength of schedule for the rest of 2025 is very favorable
- Bucky’s per game metrics in 2025 show that his rookie year was no fluke.
⚠️Risks
- Irving is a smaller back and has an injury history
- When coming back, will Tampa use a sort of committee to ease Bucky back in?
The verdict
Even with some injury concerns, Bucky can be a fantasy league winner with the strength of schedule in combination with his per game metrics he has shown in the beginning of the 2025 season. Last season he withheld White and Tucker from a starting job, so he can get back and be a RB1 immediately for your fantasy team.
