Who Should I Start? Bucky Irving or Tyrone Tracy Jr.

Tuesday, September 16, 12:19 AM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving was busy Monday night against Houston, handling 17 carries for 71 yards while adding six receptions for 50 yards in the pass game. Irving was the engine of Tampa Bay's offense against Houston's stout defense, consistently making defenders miss and finding positive yardage. The star's second year back forced 11 missed tackles, including five on receptions in Monday night's game, the most in his career, according to NFL Pro. Mayfield was under a ton of pressure and took four sacks overall against one of the league's best pass rush groups, and he often resorted to Irving as a safety valve. Rachaad White handled more work than he did in Week 1 and ended up scoring the game-winning touchdown after Mayfield drove them down to the goal line. Otherwise, Irving still had a highly productive fantasy outing and remains Tampa Bay's lead back. He should be viewed as a rock-solid RB1 moving forward with his high-value touch role.

Saturday, September 13, 1:44 AM

New York Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. had a lackluster Week 1, but his fantasy outlook improves considerably heading into a favorable Week 2 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys. As the RB39 in Week 1, Tracy managed only 4.5 fantasy points with 24 rushing yards and 11 receiving yards, but he dominated the backfield with a 66.2% timeshare. This heavy workload, combined with the Cowboys' defensive struggles against the run, makes him an intriguing play. Dallas allowed a whopping 158 rushing yards in Week 1, the fifth-most in the NFL, and was the 23rd-ranked fantasy defense against running backs last season, giving up 22.67 fantasy points per game. Given the potential for a high-volume day, Tracy has a chance to deliver RB2 numbers.