Who Should I Start? Sean Tucker or Will Shipley

Saturday, February 14, 9:15 AM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Sean Tucker saw a career high of 86 carries in 2025, and although his efficiency dipped drastically from his 2024 sophomore campaign, he could see an expanded role in 2026. With fifth-year back Rachaad White scheduled to hit free agency, and a weak incoming rookie class, Tucker should slot in as Bucky Irving's primary backup/change-of-pace back. New offensive coordinator Zac Robinson has already compared Irving to Bijan Robinson, whom he rode to a league-leading 2,298 yards from scrimmage with the Falcons in 2025. The unspoken silver lining is that, in Robinson's two seasons in Atlanta, backup running back Tyler Allgeier averaged 671 yards and over five touchdowns while working behind arguably the most talented back in the league. Where Tucker will need to make significant strides to stay on the field is in the passing game. He averaged an abysmal 0.58 yards per route run in 2025, his second time below 0.7 yards through his first three seasons. If Robinson can tap into Tucker's game-breaking speed and boost his efficiency while working him into the passing game, the fourth-year back could be in line for a minor breakout.

Friday, November 21, 11:34 PM

Philadelphia Eagles Will Shipley has been relegated mostly to special teams touches and the occasional carry behind Saquon Barkley and Tank Bigsby as the team's RB3. The Eagles acquired Bigsby ahead of Week 7, and he's mostly served as the primary backup to Barkley. Since then, Bigsby and Shipley have each played 14.5% of the offensive snaps, but Bigsby has 17 carries to Shipley's seven during that span. The 2024 fourth-round pick entered the season as the No. 2 back for the Eagles, then missed Weeks 2 and 3 due to a rib injury, and has now fallen out of favor with the team, going out and trading for another back to have another capable option behind Barkley. Shipley still has some appeal as a handcuff if Barkley were to go down, but it would likely be a timeshare with Bigsby.