Who Should I Start? Kenneth Walker III or Bucky Irving

Monday, February 9, 12:32 PM

Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III rushed for 135 yards on 27 carries during Sunday's Super Bowl LX victory over the New England Patriots. He also caught two of four targets for an additional 26 receiving yards. Walker's spectacular postseason culminated in a terrific showing on the world's biggest stage. He averaged five yards per carry and broke off several big runs that helped the Seahawks clinch a Super Bowl title. For his efforts, he was also named Super Bowl MVP. Walker had a very impressive 2025 campaign, and it came during a contract year. For the first time in his career, he was healthy for all 17 regular-season games. He tallied 1,309 scrimmage yards and five touchdowns while splitting work with Zach Charbonnet during the regular season, and he put the rushing workload on his back after Charbonnet tore his ACL during Seattle's first playoff game. Walker will now enter free agency as arguably the top running back available, alongside players like Travis Etienne Jr. and Breece Hall. Walker's landing spot will paint a better picture of his fantasy value in 2026 drafts, but for now, he's a solid top-12 running back in all redraft formats, especially if he ends up back in Seattle.

Tuesday, February 10, 2:23 PM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving was a disappointment for fantasy managers in 2025 while missing seven games because of shoulder and foot injuries. New offensive coordinator Zac Robinson had good things to say about Irving, though, and the 23-year-old could be a popular bounce-back candidate this fall with Rachaad White likely to leave in free agency. "I see Bucky in a very similar light [to Bijan Robinson] there with what he can do in the passing game, and there's not a run concept that he can't run," Robinson said. "So I'm excited to work with Bucky and know that there is a ton of meat on the bone in the passing game." Irving, a fourth-rounder in 2024 out of Oregon, rushed for 588 yards and only one touchdown on 173 carries in 10 games in 2025, but he proved to be worthy of lead-back duties after carrying the ball 207 times for 1,122 yards and eight rushing TDs in 17 games as a rookie. Don't sleep on Irving going into next season.