What's better than looking forward to a bright future that you know is coming? And then that future arrives sooner than you expect.
Need an example? How about the Houston Texans? No one expected them to emerge from the sewer of the league last season and become an immediate championship contender. Sure, they drafted their franchise QB of the future, but few thought that that future was actually the present.
Even in fantasy, this kind of thing happens from time to time. Think about Lions tight end Sam LaPorta last season. People thought he would end up being a fantasy mainstay at the position. But he quickly realized that.
Others take a little longer, sitting behind a starter but catapulting to the front of fantasy lines when the opportunity arises. One such scenario is Buccaneers rookie running back Bucky Irving.
Currently, he is best utilized as a backup to established starter Rachad White, but anyone who peruses box scores or glances at advanced statistics will notice White's egregious inefficiency.
White broke nine tackles on 272 rushing attempts last season, according to Pro Football Reference. By comparison, Travis Etienne Jr. led the league with 31 broken tackles on five fewer attempts. Zach Charbonnet broke one more tackle with 10 broken tackles on just 108 carries.
White averaged a dismal 3.7 yards per carry in 2023, tied for 80th among all running backs with Tyler Allgaier and just above DeeJay Dallas.
White has been even worse so far this season, at 2.0 attempts per carry. Meanwhile, Irving has caught roughly 40% of the Buccaneers' RB rushing attempts, averaging 5.3 attempts per carry, more than double White's catches per carry.
The reasons for this difference are interesting: Neither broke many tackles (just one each), and White was noticeably better at making plays after contact, with 50 YAC compared to just 31 for Irving.
Where Irving has an advantage is yardage. in front Before contact. Pro Football Reference has Irving at 60 and White at … zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel is minus-1 in yards before contact and the only player with 10 or more rushing attempts this season.
How does this happen? Is it a technical glitch? Or human error? Does White's offensive line hate him? Or is he just slowly hitting holes? Maybe he's just bad at avoiding contact?
Here's the problem: Irving is young, looks to have a lot of “suddenness” both in visual inspection and on the stat sheet, and doesn't have any groin issues.
On top of the commanders. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
Oh, yes, I almost forgot. White is dealing with a groin injury that forced him to briefly miss last week's game at Detroit. He returned but was ineffective and was limited in practice this week.
He doesn't appear to be in danger of missing games, but that doesn't mean he'll be given a full load, which could make the problem worse, or he could continue to be ineffective and allow the more effective Irving to play.
Or maybe the Buccaneers get ahead of a weak Denver team, buy themselves some time and win handily. That kind of game means the Buccaneers offense will try to make more of a rush than usual. And if they're in control of the game, they won't have to force an ailing, ineffective starter. Thus, a Bucky Irving breakout game is born.
Now, these scenarios aren't necessarily likely, but they are certainly possible. Don't bench a star player to make room for Irving, but if you're torn between a guy like Zack Moss or Zamir White, go against conventional wisdom and go with a guy like Buckey.
Big Week
Alexander Mattison, RB, Raiders vs. Panthers (FanDuel $5,700/DraftKings $5,400)
Neither he nor Razzie's starting running back Zamir White have been outstanding, but Mattison has two carries in the red zone so far and could have a chance to score against the Panthers.
Jauan Jennings, WR, 49ers vs Rams (FD $5,200/DK $4,100)
Deebo Samuel is expected to miss the game, George Kittle is questionable with a hamstring injury, Brandon Aiyuk is unavailable and, oh, Christian McCaffrey is also out.
Demarcus Robinson WR, Rams vs 49ers (FD $6,100/DK $5,000)
Missing players include Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp. Matthew Stafford isn't a terrible QB and Robinson will likely be promoted at WR, but TE Colby Parkinson is a better option.
Diontaie Johnson, WR, Panthers vs Raiders (FD $5,300/DK $4,900)
Yeah, we know, we're Diontay truthers, or maybe we're Carolina fans, but if we're short on WRs, we're going to give Johnson another chance now that Andy Dalton is the QB.
Small weaknesses
Kyren Williams, RB, Rams, vs. 49ers (FD $7,500/DK $7,100)
Without receivers, facing a tough defense and already struggling to get the running game going, this probably isn't the week to fix that.
Carson Steele RB, Chiefs vs. Falcons (FD $5,200/DK $5,400)
He's one of the players to watch this week and we're not writing him off long term, but we'd like to see how the workload is split between him and Samaje Perine before we start working Steele into the lineup.
Do you bet on the NFL?
James Conner RB, Cardinals vs. Lions (FD $7,400/DK $6,600)
The Lions were the toughest defense against opposing running backs last season, outscoring them by over one PPR point per game. But this season? So far, they've been the worst D against opposing running backs.
Cam Akers RB, Texans vs. Vikings (FD $4,000/DK $4,700)
With Joe Mixon (ankle) and backup Damon Pierce (hamstring) missing practice this week, Akers will be your problem again. He's caused us a lot of trouble in the past. He's just a DFS dart to us.
Insanity's Daily Duel
Drew Loftis and Jarrad Wilk will submit rosters to compete in DFS contests.
site: FanDuel
slate: Sunday Main Events (13 games)
type: $15 tournament
Grand Prize: $250,000
pot: $2 million
Drew's Crew
Quarterback: Sam Darnold, Ming (vs. Hou) $7,100
R.B.: Bucky Irving, TB (vs. Den) $5,200
R.B.: Saquon Barkley, Phi (NO) $8,700
WR: Justin Jefferson, Minnesota (vs. Hou), $9,200
WR: Nico Collins, Hou (Ming) $7,600
WR: Ruthie Rice, KC (Atlanta) $7,300
Te: Colby Parkinson, LAR (vs. SF) $5,300
flex: Jauan Jennings, SF (LAR) $5,200
Defense: 49ers, SF (LAR) $4,400
Wilk's Warrior
Quarterback: Kyler Murray, Ali (vs. Det) $8,300
R.B.: Bucky Irving, TB (vs. Den) $5,200
R.B.: Jordan Mason, SF (LAR) $8,300
WR: Marvin Harrison Jr., Ali (vs. Det.) $7,500
WR: Jameson Williams, Det (at Ali) $6,300
WRDiontay Johnson, Car (LV) $5,300
Te: Brock Bowers, LV (vs. Carr) $6,300
flex: Justin Jefferson, Minnesota (vs. Hou), $9,200
Defense: Giants, NYG (Cleveland) $3,300
Last minute roster changes, check X from @NYPost_Loftis and @nypfantasymadman's threads
The season is in jeopardy: $32
Season Prize Money: Jarrad $34, Drew $0
