Who Should I Start? Bucky Irving or RJ Harvey

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.

Tuesday, April 29, 1:40 PM

Denver Broncos rookie running back RJ Harvey, who was taken 60th overall in last week's NFL draft in the second round, could end up doing it all for the Broncos as a runner and pass-catcher, even though he caught only 20 passes in 2024 in his final season at UCF. "This was kind of our pet cat throughout the process," general manager George Paton said. "His running style we feel he's dynamic. He has really good vision, really good instincts, really good contact balance. Highly explosive. We thought maybe he had the best vision in the draft." Harvey wasn't used a lot as a pass-catcher in college, but that's going to change in Denver with head coach Sean Payton. In addition to his potential as a pass-catcher, Harvey had 1,577 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns in 2024. With home run ability and a three-down skill set, expect Harvey to be the team's RB1 come the fall.