Bucky Irving vs Zay Flowers

“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).”

“Bucky Irving ‘s rookie season was as impressive as they come, considering his draft capital (125th overall).”

“Bucky Irving was the only top-12 drafted RB to miss more than two games.”

“Top-12 Drafted RBs in 2025 RB 2025 ADP 2024 Finish 2025 Games Played Bijan Robinson RB1 RB3 17 Saquon Barkley RB2 RB13 16 Jahmyr Gibbs RB3 RB4 17 Christian McCaffrey RB4 RB1 17 Derrick Henry RB5 RB7 17 Ashton Jeanty RB6 RB12 17 Josh Jacobs RB7 RB15 15 De’Von Achane RB8 RB6 16 Jonathan Taylor RB9 RB2 17 Bucky Irving RB10 RB33 10 Chase Brown RB11 RB8 17 Kyren Williams RB12 RB9 17 2025 RB Health Last season, nine out of 12 top RBs drafted finished as an RB1, resulting in a mostly chalky season at the top for RBs.”

“Bucky Irving checks all the boxes when it comes to identifying a true “buy low” player.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Bucky Irving is a favorite draft target in the fifth round based on ADP.”

“With his second season being muddied with injuries and mental well-being issues, he enters his third season as a true fantasy question mark. This offseason, the Buccaneers gave Kenneth Gainwell a substantial contract and also brought back Sean Tucker. If both of these backs stick to their respective roles, we are looking at an early-down back in Irving who will be limited.”

“Who would have thought that the best back in the class by far was the sixth one selected on draft day? Taken with the 125th pick by the Buccaneers, Bucky Irving's hard-nosed running for a back his size won over fantasy managers.”

“Irving also has to deal with the arrival of Kenneth Gainwell, who signed a two-year deal with Tampa Bay. Gainwell has garnered plenty of praise this offseason, with head coach Todd Bowles recently saying Gainwell is the 1b to Irving's 1a.”

“Isaiah Likely is gone, and I don’t think Ja’Kobi Lane or Elijah Sarratt provide the level of incentive to keep me off of drafting the guy who has been the other boundary target next to Zay Flowers for years now.”

“The Fantasy Hitman grabbed his beloved Zay Flowers to be his WR2.”

“The Ballers really like Zay Flowers , who will serve as the primary pre-snap chess piece operating from the Z-receiver spot. This alignment keeps him off the line of scrimmage to dodge press coverage while creating misdirection.”

“The Declan Doyle addition makes me more bullish on Flowers, who was the entire Ravens’ passing game last season.”

“Yet, Zay Flowers’ role as the clear-cut No. 1 option in the passing game remains unchallenged.”

“Zay Flowers (WR – BAL) My rank – WR19, 45th overall ADP – WR22, 60th overall The Zay Flowers propaganda is making its way around the Redraft streets, but it doesn’t appear the dynasty community is quite as bullish. Well, I’m buying the hype on Flowers.”

“Flowers is just as electric as she was billed coming out of college. He's been Lamar Jackson's No. 1 receiver since the day he was drafted, and at times he's been Jackson's only noteworthy receiver.”

“With DeAndre Hopkins and Isaiah Likely gone, the passing volume may be further consolidated in Flowers' favor. Valued as the WR18 in ECR, Flowers should be in line to smash his ADP if he can simply post a league-average touchdown rate.”

“Flowers finished as the WR4 overall in route participation in 2025, rocking an impressive 29% target share. In terms of efficiency, Flowers finished 12th or better at the position in yards per route run (YPRR), yards per target and yards per team pass attempt last year.”

“Yet, Flowers' role as the clear-cut No. 1 option in the passing game remains unchallenged. Last year, the former Boston College star averaged 14.3 PPR fantasy points per game, a career high. However, he was even better when Lamar Jackson played, averaging 15 fantasy points per game on only 6.9 targets per contest.”

“If you rostered Zay Flowers last season, you know that his WR7 finish in 2025 deserves an asterisk. Hopefully, no one was playing fantasy football in Week 18 (if so, put a rule change up to vote), but that's when Flowers padded his stats with 2 TDs and 138 yards receiving. Half of the time he was "MEH" (between 8 and 12.5 fpts). Zay Flowers finished as a Top-24 WR in just 35% of his games in 2025.”

“Zay Flowers has been a poor man's version of Amon-Ra St. Brown, turning in consistently strong reception and yardage totals. He hasn't scored many touchdowns, but it's possible Flowers gets more red-zone looks under the new Ravens offensive coordinator, Declan Doyle.”