Despite losing to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1, it appears as though running back Bucky Irving is going to be a fantasy football winner. Dwain McFarland of Fantasy Life broke down the usage of the third-year running back.
While there were concerns about Kenneth Gainwell emerging and stealing valuable touches, the first week showed no legitimate concerns.
“Irving held a sizeable advantage over Gainwell in Week 1, handling 62% of the snaps and a 58% route participation rate,” wrote McFarland. “He even stayed on the field in long-down-and-distance (LDD) situations, handling 75% of those reps.”
This is significant, especially in comparison to Gainwell. Last year, Gainwell had 73 catches for 486 yards. In his career, Irving has 84 catches for 717 yards. This includes seven catches for 48 yards in the opener. The seven receptions tied his career-high.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Running Back Bucky Irving Gets Great Fantasy Football News
McFarland added that Irving led the touches when the team had red zone or short-yardage snaps. This is significant because Irving went from 1.29 rushes in the red zone per game as a rookie to 0.6 rushes in the red zone per game in his second season.
“Irving led the team with 53% of the rushing attempts in a game script where the Bucs fell behind early due to turnovers against the Bengals,” added McFarland. “He also accounted for 3 of 5 short-yardage snaps, which correlates with attempts inside the five-yard line, which the Bucs never had.”
McFarland made it clear that one week is too early to make sweeping presumptions. However, if he continues with the utilization that he had in Week 1, 63% of the players with similar utilization finish as top-12 running backs in production.
If Irving keeps playing like this, there is a good chance he is one of the ten best running backs in the NFL.
Bucky Irving Shines Above Kenneth Gainwell in Bucs Season Opener
The Buccaneers gave Gainwell a notable contract this year. He signed a two-year, $14M deal in free agency this offseason. That is a similar salary to Tony Pollard, who led the Tennessee Titans backfield last season.
So, they have a plan for Gainwell and want him to be involved in the offense. However, the early thought was that Gainwell would eat into the passing game work and the short-yardage snaps. That is what caused Irving to drop in fantasy drafts.
If Irving is going to get the passing-down work and the short-yardage snaps, Gainwell was just brought in to be his backup. That would make it a good time to buy on Irving, even after his strong performance.
However, it is worth seeing if this becomes a trend before going all-in on Irving. Gainwell is more experienced than Irving and is making more. He is not going to get pushed out of the picture after one week of less-than-expected usage.
Buccaneers’ RB Bucky Irving Silences Major Fantasy Concern