The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have one of the best backfields in the NFL, arguably the deepest in terms of going three deep in Bucky Irving, Rachaad White, and Sean Tucker. The top two in Irving and White are very much the straws that stir the drink of the Bucs offense.
That leads us to the latest exercise by PFF, in which they ranked the top running back duos in the NFL. Within them, Dalton Wasserman ranked the Bucs sixth overall, second best in the NFC South behind only the Falcons, who came in third.
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When discussing Bucky Irving, the Bucs new lead back, Wasserman writes, “Bucky Irving’s outstanding rookie season boosts the Buccaneers well into the top 10 on this list. He finished fourth among all running backs with a 90.8 PFF overall grade and was the only player in the NFL to record 90.0-plus PFF grades as a rusher and receiver.”
The former Oregon Duck is poised for a much larger role in 2025. Even in a limited one, he was the Bucs’ first 1,000-yard rusher since Doug Martin in 2015. Regarding his tag team partner, Rachaad White, Wasserman gives him just as much praise.
“Rachaad White’s 73.8 PFF overall grade is evidence that he is more than capable of playing a complementary role. Even third-stringer Sean Tucker got in on the action last season, earning an 80.0 mark and racking up 237 total yards, including kick returns, against New Orleans in Week 6.”
This time next year, we could be seeing the Bucs in a much higher spot if Bucky Irving continues on the uptick he has shown to be on.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Bucs RB group earns high praise from PFF in pre-season rankings