Broke through in 2024.
You know it is summertime when this is published.
Once again, which has been a tradition of summer, even though we’re still a few days away from the official start of summer, prickly Pete Prisco of CBS released his Top-100 players in the league.
The first guy on the list is Bucs’ second-year running back Bucky Irving. Prisco believes Bucky is the [No. 94 player](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/priscos-nfl-top-100-players-of-2025-saquon-barkley-cracks-top-5-four-other-rbs-make-top-50-4-qbs-in-top-10/) in the NFL.
> Irving started just three games as a rookie in 2024, and had just 207 carries, but he still ran for 1,122 yards with eight rushing touchdowns. He averaged 5.4 yards per rush and I expect him to have many more carries this season and for him to be higher on the list in 2026.
Well, like Bucs running backs coach Skip Peete said this spring, the only difference between a No. 1 back and a starter is that the starter is on the field for the first snap. So Bucky is the guy for the Bucs.
Joe is interested to see what Bucky does this year. Naturally, defensive coordinators have had all offseason to scheme up ways to stop him. Can Bucky adjust?
Joe does know that last season, defensive coaches had all season to figure out ways to slow Bucky down. They never did.