Bucky Irving vs David Montgomery
2026 draft comparison · half-PPR
Updated Aug 26, 2026
Should you draft Bucky Irving or David Montgomery?
Last season — 2025, per game
Full game log & past seasons
| WK | OPP | FPTS | RANK | ATT | YD | TD | TGT | REC | RYD | RTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ATL | 12.5 | RB19 | 14 | 37 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
2 | HOU | 15.1 | RB14 | 17 | 71 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 50 | 0 |
3 | NYJ | 11.9 | RB17 | 25 | 66 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 33 | 0 |
4 | PHI | 23.0 | RB9 | 15 | 63 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 102 | 1 |
5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
10 | BYE | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
12 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
13 | ARI | 15.1 | RB14 | 17 | 61 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 0 |
14 | NO | 15.1 | RB12 | 15 | 55 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 26 | 1 |
15 | ATL | 7.6 | RB34 | 16 | 60 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 0 |
16 | CAR | 7.1 | RB41 | 19 | 71 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
17 | MIA | 5.8 | RB35 | 9 | 19 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 14 | 0 |
18 | CAR | 10.3 | RB19 | 26 | 85 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 0 |
Earlier seasons (2024)
| WK | OPP | FPTS | RANK | ATT | YD | TD | TGT | REC | RYD | RTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | WAS | 8.6 | RB31 | 9 | 62 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 0 |
2 | DET | 2.2 | RB62 | 7 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
3 | DEN | 9.9 | RB24 | 9 | 70 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 0 |
4 | PHI | 12.0 | RB22 | 10 | 49 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
5 | ATL | 4.6 | RB43 | 9 | 44 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 0 |
6 | NO | 17.5 | RB11 | 14 | 81 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 24 | 0 |
7 | BAL | 15.2 | RB17 | 9 | 23 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 54 | 0 |
8 | ATL | 11.9 | RB24 | 9 | 44 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 40 | 0 |
9 | KC | 4.9 | RB41 | 7 | 24 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 0 |
10 | SF | 16.2 | RB6 | 13 | 73 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 0 |
11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
12 | NYG | 24.2 | RB3 | 12 | 88 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 64 | 0 |
13 | CAR | 26.0 | RB1 | 25 | 152 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 33 | 0 |
14 | LV | 2.3 | RB49 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 0 |
15 | LAC | 12.3 | RB17 | 15 | 117 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -4 | 0 |
16 | DAL | 16.7 | RB16 | 16 | 68 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 24 | 0 |
17 | CAR | 21.0 | RB5 | 20 | 113 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 77 | 0 |
18 | NO | 15.4 | RB9 | 19 | 89 | 1 | 5 | 2 | -5 | 0 |
| WK | OPP | FPTS | RANK | ATT | YD | TD | TGT | REC | RYD | RTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | GB | 6.3 | RB35 | 11 | 25 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 18 | 0 |
2 | CHI | 12.6 | RB23 | 11 | 57 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
3 | BAL | 28.9 | RB2 | 12 | 151 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 0 |
4 | CLE | 1.2 | RB62 | 9 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
5 | CIN | 17.7 | RB9 | 18 | 65 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
6 | KC | 7.1 | RB25 | 4 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 37 | 0 |
7 | TB | 4.9 | RB36 | 13 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 18 | 0 |
8 | BYE | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
9 | MIN | 10.0 | RB21 | 11 | 40 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
10 | WAS | 9.6 | RB25 | 15 | 71 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
11 | PHI | 4.2 | RB43 | 6 | 27 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 |
12 | NYG | 5.2 | RB36 | 5 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 0 |
13 | GB | 11.8 | RB22 | 8 | 32 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 0 |
14 | DAL | 13.8 | RB15 | 6 | 60 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 0 |
15 | LAR | 9.2 | RB30 | 7 | 32 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
16 | PIT | 1.4 | RB63 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
17 | MIN | 5.0 | RB40 | 10 | 25 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 0 |
18 | CHI | 6.0 | RB35 | 8 | 42 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 0 |
Earlier seasons (2024)
| WK | OPP | FPTS | RANK | ATT | YD | TD | TGT | REC | RYD | RTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | LAR | 15.8 | RB14 | 17 | 91 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
2 | TB | 15.0 | RB13 | 11 | 35 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 35 | 0 |
3 | ARI | 19.7 | RB8 | 23 | 105 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 17 | 0 |
4 | SEA | 14.5 | RB18 | 12 | 40 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 40 | 0 |
5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
6 | DAL | 20.5 | RB5 | 12 | 80 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
7 | MIN | 6.5 | RB35 | 9 | 31 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 39 | 0 |
8 | TEN | 14.4 | RB17 | 9 | 33 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
9 | GB | 11.1 | RB24 | 17 | 73 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 23 | 0 |
10 | HOU | 12.1 | RB16 | 12 | 32 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 0 |
11 | JAX | 23.0 | RB4 | 15 | 75 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 20 | 0 |
12 | IND | 14.8 | RB10 | 8 | 37 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 36 | 0 |
13 | CHI | 13.9 | RB15 | 21 | 88 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 36 | 0 |
14 | GB | 16.9 | RB10 | 14 | 51 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 33 | 0 |
15 | BUF | 5.5 | RB37 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 31 | 0 |
Latest takes
“There has yet to be a positive report about Bucky Irving this offseason.”
Ellis Johnson· Aug 21“Bucky Irving has dealt with a number of injuries in his short career with a foot sprain and a shoulder/ AC joint sprain last year. Rewinding to 2024, he also dealt with hip, back, toe, and hamstring issues.”
FantasyPros Staff· Aug 11“Bucky Irving , who is returning from a foot and shoulder injury that limited him to 588 rushing yards in 2025 after a breakout rookie campaign in 2024.”
Samuel DiSorbo· Aug 10
See 12 more
“Check out all of DBro’s top fantasy football draft picks to target >> Bucky Irving (TB) It seems as if everyone in the fantasy community is fading Bucky Irving.”
FantasyPros Staff· Aug 10“If Bucky Irving struggles to stay healthy for the second consecutive season, Gainwell could have a career year”
Mike Fanelli· Aug 6“100 | (RB35) To be clear, Bucky Irving isn’t fading away despite a down season last year”
Kyle Zeigler· Aug 6“It’s odd that so many people are forgetting just how good Irving was over a fairly large sample size of games over the second half of his rookie season. Buy the dip.”
FantasyPros Staff· Aug 6“8 | Diff: +3 Over the last two seasons, with Bucky Irving in town, Rachaad White was a more effective per-touch player, but with Irving out of the lineup last year, he proved again that he can carry the mail (although while being horribly inefficient).”
FantasyPros Staff· Aug 5“Bucky Irving ‘s rookie season was as impressive as they come, considering his draft capital (125th overall).”
Wyatt Bertolone· Aug 3“Bucky Irving was the only top-12 drafted RB to miss more than two games.”
Jordan Pullett· Jul 29“Bucky Irving finished as the RB13 his rookie year before slumping to an RB 34 playing 10 games the following season. More concerning than the games missed is his carries inside the 5-yard line in 2025: zero.”
Peter Kettering· Jul 24“Bucky Irving checks all the boxes when it comes to identifying a true “buy low” player.”
Jonathan Lange· Jul 23“After finishing his rookie season as the RB13, averaging 14.4 PPR fantasy points per game, Bucky Irving regressed last year and struggled to stay healthy, missing seven contests. Furthermore, Irving had offseason shoulder surgery and might not be fully ready for training camp.”
Mike Fanelli· Jul 19“Irving finished dead last in that metric among qualifying running backs last season, which sounds damning, but he ranked sixth in the same metric in 2024. The difference is the offensive line: Tampa Bay’s line ranked second in adjusted line yards during Irving’s rookie season and collapsed to 22nd last year due to injuries.”
FantasyPros Staff· Jul 17“Even before the injury that sidelined him, Irving averaged just 3.3 yards per carry while ranking 32nd in explosive yards, 45th in missed tackles forced per attempt and 33rd in runs for first downs at his position. With Tampa Bay deploying a full rotation of backs, it feels extremely hard to replicate.”
Kyle Zeigler· Jul 11
“In addition to the headline question, I was asked about keeping David Montgomery for a sixth-round pick in half-PPR leagues.”
Josh Shepardson· Aug 22“Round 6: David Montgomery (RB – HOU) David Montgomery was traded to the Houston Texans, and he’ll immediately bolster their backfield.”
Richard Janvrin· Aug 22“It’s no surprise that David Montgomery believes he can be a lead back in the NFL and carry a full workload.”
Ellis Johnson· Aug 19
See 12 more
“added much-needed help to the offensive line and a dependable lead-back in David Montgomery .”
Kyle Lesti· Aug 11“With the Lions losing David Montgomery , that should open up some extra touches in the offense, and Jameson can see a handful of those.” – Muntradamus ( Beast Dome ) “I like a lot of WRs in this range, so I’m going to go with one of the more affordable options in Jameson Williams , whose current ADP is at WR 25.”
FantasyPros Staff· Aug 11“David Montgomery (RB – HOU) With a stable workload and an undervalued draft price, David Montgomery is a clear choice to draft in the middle rounds.”
Lawrence Iacona· Aug 11“The biggest reason Gibbs should be the RB1 is that he no longer shares the backfield with David Montgomery .”
Kyle Zeigler· Aug 10“David Montgomery, Tyler Allgeier, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Kareem Hunt, Jalen Hurts – 8 Jordan Love is the only QB in the last decade to:”
The FF Newsletter· Aug 6“David Montgomery (RB – HOU) At this point in the draft, I didn’t have a running back yet, so I wanted to start taking swings on players I felt had starter upside, and David Montgomery is definitely one of them”
Richard Janvrin· Aug 6“Last season, Montgomery bested Marks in explosive run rate, missed tackle rate, rushing success rate, yards after contact per attempt, and yards per route run. Legit, every per-touch metric that I care about. Montgomery is the superior back, even at this stage of his career, and he’ll be a strong volume-driven RB2 that could flirt with RB1 production.”
FantasyPros Staff· Aug 4“David Montgomery now finds himself as the Texans’ do it all workhorse for 2026. Last year, he was phased out of the Lions’ offensive plans as the season moved along, which led to his RB32 finish in fantasy points per game. In Weeks 12-18, he was the RB43 in fantasy points per game with a 32.1% snap rate, 8.2 touches per game, and only 42.8 total yards per game.”
FantasyPros Staff· Aug 4“A Case Study at the Round 4 Turn Currently in best ball ADP, DJ Moore and David Montgomery are priced right next to each other, with average draft positions of 47 and 48, as of July 27th.”
Tony Martin· Jul 30“Gibbs, like Bijan, has seen his total volume increase each year of his NFL career and is projected to take on an even bigger load now that Knuckles, aka David Montgomery , is gone.”
Jordan Pullett· Jul 29“All this adds up to an offense that will be on the field a lot while nursing leads in the second half, and that’s all David Montgomery time, baby.”
Jeff Krisko· Jul 28“Flip this to David Montgomery last season, who didn’t get a lot of volume, but was 19 th in yards per touch, 32nd in true yards per carry, and 29 th in yards created per touch. What you see is a bell cow-style individual, very similar to Joe Mixon in the past, and this is the type of player that (despite being aggressively average) can put up a ton of fantasy points on volume alone.”
Jeff Krisko· Jul 28