Bucky Irving has been one of the buzziest names in fantasy football circles this offseason, and not necessarily for good reason. Will the third-year RB return to his electric rookie-year form, or is it time to adjust our priors and admit that his floor and ceiling are far lower than we anticipated? Ian Hartitz dives in as part of his Tampa Bay Buccaneers fantasy football team preview.

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Can Bucky Irving Be Trusted As A Top-20 Fantasy RB?

• RB1: Bucky Irving (RB21 in our consensus fantasy football rankings)
• RB2: Kenneth Gainwell (RB37)
• RB3: Sean Tucker (RB60)

This didn't seem like much of a question entering last season. After all, Irving looked a lot like one of the league's best ball carriers throughout his rookie campaign, regularly dodging, ducking, dipping, diving and dodging would-be tacklers on his way to racking up 1,514 total yards and eight touchdowns.

Unfortunately, Irving suffered a sprained foot and AC joint in Week 4, issues that would sideline him for six games and seemingly limit him for the rest of the season. The impact was VERY apparent:

The shoulder issue required offseason surgery that still has Irving sidelined. Head coach Todd Bowles said in late May that Irving is expected to return sometime, "during summer or fall." That could simply be a broad range, and we see Irving back in action to start training camp … but it's not great!

Also not great for Irving's fantasy upside: The team's decision to bring in Kenneth Gainwell and re-sign Sean Tucker. The skill sets at hand could lead to Gainwell working as the team's primary pass-down back (he caught 73 passes in Pittsburgh last season!) while Tucker takes the fantasy-friendly goal-line work (he out-carried Irving 9-to-0 inside the five-yard line last season). This sort of split could render Irving in the dreaded between-the-20s role.

Ultimately, it's hard to trust Irving as more than a borderline RB2 at this point. Sure, he flashed high-end talent back in 2024, but we're now two years and offensive coordinators removed from that reality, and there's no telling what version of the 23-year-old we're going to get in 2026. The Bucs sound like they're planning to deploy Irving and Gainwell as a one-two punch, which sure doesn't seem to be reflected in their current gap of fantasy football ADP (RB20 vs. RB37). I've had a VERY hard time spending a Round 4-5 pick on Irving in early drafts, while Gainwell also hasn't gotten a ton of clicks from me due to the potential for him to be *two* injuries away from a featured role with Tucker potentially being a factor on early downs.

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