Bucky Irving
vs Emeka Egbuka

“Bucky Irving has been Tampa Bay’s clear RB1 to start the season, out-carrying Kenny Gainwell by 15 carries last week and running 10 more routes.”

“The results have been just OK, but Bucky Irving’s usage has been incredibly exciting so far this season. He has played 71% of Tampa Bay’s snaps, handled 78% of their running back carries and seen an 18% target share on a 57% route participation rate. Kenneth Gainwell is barely relevant, and Sean Tucker didn’t play a single snap in his season debut on Sunday.”

“Minnesota Vikings Bucky Irving has played well through two games, averaging 5.36 yards per carry. He’s got a little extra pep in his step, ranking eighth in explosive yards, 11th in yards after contact per attempt and 17th in missed tackles per attempt, according to the Fantasy Points Data Suite. The Vikings pose the stiffest test for Irving, as they have yet to allow a rushing touchdown and have allowed only 14.2 fantasy points per game to running backs.”

“Looking at the Buccaneers backfield, Bucky Irving was not usurped by any means by Kenneth Gainwell . In fact, Bucky saw 32% of Tampa Bay’s total rush attempts and targets on the day. Anything above 30% is an elite workload according to our “work” metrics on our site.”

“Bucky Irving finished the game with 35 snaps to 26 for Gainwell, but that wasn’t all; every other opportunity metric tilted towards Irving, including one surprising one. Bucky finished with 22 routes, seven targets, and eight carries, while Gainwell ran only thirteen routes and finished with one target and five carries. The routes are a huge development for Bucky Irving, because those routes were where Gainwell was supposed to make hay this season, and where he was supposed to take from Irving.”

“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.”

“It was only one of two games where Rice failed to score double-digit fantasy points in 2025.” – Mike Fanelli ( FantasyPros ) Bucky Irving (RB – TB) “ Bucky Irving is a good player, but the opener on the road in Cincinnati seems daunting.”

“Bucky Irving had a sophomore season to forget.”

“Egbuka has yet to reach 65 receiving yards in a game this season, and with Baker Mayfield potentially sidelined for an extended stretch, an already underwhelming passing environment just got worse. He’s still involved enough to remain fantasy relevant, but “relevant” isn’t exactly what you were hoping for when you drafted him. Consider Egbuka a low-ceiling FLEX option until he gives us a reason to believe otherwise.”

“Emeka Egbuka’s Advanced Metrics The bigger concern is that Egbuka’s production — and dynasty value — is unlikely to rebound in the short term.”

“Two weeks in, it doesn’t look like Emeka Egbuka will take a huge step forward in his second season. His 18% target share and 31% air yards share are both fine, but they aren’t the numbers that managers betting on a breakout were hoping for. Especially given that Tampa Bay’s offense is struggling, I’d move Egbuka while his WR2 average draft position (ADP) is still fresh enough to do the heavy lifting.”

“Baker Mayfield could lean heavily on Godwin if Emeka Egbuka is being followed by DJ Turner all day.”

“Emeka Egbuka is on track to play on Sunday after missing time in training camp with turf toe.”

“Round 7: Emeka Egbuka (WR – TB) While he’ll compete with Chris Godwin for targets, Emeka Egbuka is who I’d consider to be the No.”

“Emeka Egbuka (WR – TB) offers real top-five receiver upside if his hot start from last season extends across a full year, positioned as his team’s clear top receiver under a new offensive coordinator as long as the starting quarterback stays healthy.”

“Emeka Egbuka ‘s rookie season was a rollercoaster, but the underlying usage points toward a major Year 2 breakout in Tampa Bay. The former Ohio State standout earned elite target volume for a rookie and looked like a future star early in the season before injuries and shifting usage slowed his momentum late in the year (top-10 WR from Weeks 1-11). With Mike Evans gone, Egbuka is positioned for a much larger role in Zac Robinson’s offense.”

“Emeka Egbuka (WR – TB) Emeka Egbuka had a 23.5% target share last season, which led the Buccaneers”

“With Mike Evans gone, Egbuka is positioned for a much larger role in Zac Robinson’s offense. He is one of the more appealing second-year breakout WR candidates in fantasy football.”

“Emeka Egbuka could crush his mid WR2 draft cost this season. Egbuka faded after Week 5 last year after he sustained a hamstring injury, and Baker Mayfield ‘s injury severely impacted his ability to feed catchable targets to the receiving options in Tampa Bay. In Weeks 1-5, Egbuka was the WR3 in fantasy points per game, commanding a 22.1% target share with 89 receiving yards per game, 2.71 yards per route run, a 26.1% first-read share, and 0.104 first downs per route run (per Fantasy Points Data).”

“He started off extremely hot last season before fading down the stretch, but with Mike Evans gone, Egbuka is in line for huge volume and opportunity.”