BuckyIrving

News: 4 days agoIrving rushed three times for 14 yards in the Buccaneers' 16-15 preseason win over the Chiefs on Saturday.

Spin: Irving was one of the healthy Buccaneers offensive starters to suit up Saturday, and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson appeared intent on making sure the third-year back got his work in during his brief time in the game. Irving handled the ball in each of Tampa Bay's first three plays from scrimmage, with 12 of his 14 rushing yards coming on his first pair of touches. Following an injury-plagued 2025 season that saw him miss seven regular-season games, Irving is healthy ahead of the 2026 campaign and projected to handle a significant workload as both a runner and receiver following the replacement of free-agent departure Rachaad White with Kenny Gainwell, who's likely to vulture fewer rushing touches than the latter used to.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Irving enters his third season coming off a disappointing 2025 campaign in which he missed seven games and struggled with efficiency. After averaging 5.42 yards per carry and producing 1,514 yards and eight touchdowns as a rookie, Irving fell to 3.40 YPC (fourth worst among qualified RBs), 865 yards and four touchdowns in 2025. He failed to clear 4.2 YPC in any of his 10 outings. The 24-year-old remains positioned as the lead back in Tampa Bay, but the combination of his small frame (5-foot-9, 192 pounds) and the arrival of Kenneth Gainwell suggest he might play a lesser role moving forward. Irving should be valued as a back-end RB2.