Who Should I Start? Chuba Hubbard or Bucky Irving

Saturday, August 9, 3:50 PM

Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard opened the preseason with three rushes for 10 yards in Friday's 30-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns. While his stats were light, the 26-year-old is expected to resume his role as the team's lead back after an impressive 2024 campaign. Last year, Hubbard emerged as a bell-cow, capitalizing on injuries to Miles Sanders and Jonathon Brooks (knee) to post a stat line of 250 rushes for 1,195 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground, along with 43 receptions for 171 yards and one touchdown through the air in 15 games. He signed a four-year, $33.2 million contract extension in the middle of the season. RotoBaller projects Hubbard as RB17 heading into the regular season, reflecting his expected workload as the top option in the Carolina backfield and a steady, high-end RB2.

Monday, August 4, 1:31 PM

ESPN's Dan Graziano writes that he is trying to take Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving pretty early in fantasy drafts. Graziano explains that the Bucs love Irving, and while they also have a role planned for Rachaad White, Irving is "viewed by people in the building as special enough to warrant a high-volume RB1 role." "His vision," quarterback Baker Mayfield said. "His timing of when he's supposed to hit the gas. He's patient, patient and then hits it. I just think he's always looking to score. It's tough to see in practice. Like, last year at this time I was like, 'Eh. We'll see. It looks good.' But didn't expect it to be like it was. He's just tough to bring down. He's strong, he's got great vision, he understands it, and then also you add in the ability to catch too. He's well-rounded." The 22-year-old had a 1,000-yard season with eight touchdowns in his rookie campaign and should be heavily involved in the passing attack, too, making him a low-end RB1 target in fantasy in 2025.