Rookie Bucky Irving had a breakout season in 2024 and he led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in rushing. According to one website, Irving and the Buccaneers have a Top 5 backfield.
Moe Moton of Bleacher Report wrote a piece which ranked the top backfields in the NFL. The Bucs checked in at No. 5 in his list.
"In 2024, Irving led all rookies in rushing (1,122) and finished with a team-leading 1,514 scrimmage yards. In three of the last six weeks of the campaign, he rushed for 113-plus yards," Moton wrote.
Irving had a great rookie year, no question about it. To rank them as high as Moten did. It just doesn't make sense. Moten goes on to explain his rationale and hype up the backfield.
"Irving shared the workload with [Rachaad] White, who ceded a significant number of touches to his rookie running mate. Still, the versatile tailback eclipsed 1,000 scrimmage yards, averaging a career-high 4.3 yards per carry," Moten said. "While Irving and White led the backfield, [Sean] Tucker filled in the gaps, accumulating 417 scrimmage yards and scoring three touchdowns.
"If Grizzard pushes the right buttons with his play-calling, Tampa Bay's backfield will continue to garner league wide respect."
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The teams ranked higher than the Bucs are the Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions.
You can question the credibility of the study when the Eagles, led by 2,000 yard rusher Saquon Barkley are not ranked at the top of the list. Further, the Ravens are led by running back Derrick Henry and have a running quarterback in Lamar Jackson, who is the all-time leading rusher for quarterbacks. They have to factor in at No. 2.
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This story was originally published March 16, 2025 at 10:29 PM.