Who Should I Start? Bucky Irving or Ashton Jeanty

Monday, January 13, 12:53 AM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving rushed for 77 yards on 17 carries during Sunday's playoff loss to the Washington Commanders. He also caught two passes for an additional six yards through the air. In the loss, Irving averaged his lowest yards per carry since Week 9 (excluding his injury-shortened Week 14), which is not an indictment on his performance but rather a testament to just how well he's been running the football lately. He carved out the lead-back role once again on Sunday, registering 17 carries to Rachaad White's one. White has essentially been delegated to pass-catching situations, and even then, he continues to lose opportunities to Irving. It has been fascinating to watch this backfield dynamic develop throughout the season, with White slipping way down from the RB1 tier in fantasy football while Irving becomes one of the top running backs in dynasty fantasy football (and a mid-range RB1 in redraft leagues, too). Barring an unexpected change or addition within the Buccaneers' backfield, Irving should remain their primary ball carrier entering 2025.

Friday, June 13, 1:04 PM

The Las Vegas Raiders took running back Ashton Jeanty with the sixth overall pick in April's NFL draft, but head coach Pete Carroll hints that the first-year back could be part of a committee backfield in 2025. "I love having multiple guys play," Carroll said. "I'm not relying on one guy, you know." Aside from Jeanty, the Raiders have Raheem Mostert, Zamir White and Sincere McCormick at the position. While the Raiders will rely on multiple backs, it's hard not to see Jeanty being the primary option after he had 2,601 yards in his final season at Boise State in 2024. Vegas' 1,357 rushing yards last year were dead-last in the NFL. "Ashton looks every bit what we had hoped he would look like," Carroll said. Despite what Carroll is saying, Jeanty is going to be drafted as a top-five RB going into his rookie season as one of the position's best all-around prospects in many years.