During the most recent era of Oregon Ducks football, since Dan Lanning took over at the end of 2021, there has been few players more captivating in Eugene than running back Bucky Irving. As a transfer from Minnesota and a relatively unknown rusher when arriving at Oregon, Irving quickly stole the hearts of Duck fans. He became a beloved player in college football circles.
Now he’s doing a similar thing at the NFL level with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After getting drafted in the 4th round with the No. 125 overall pick in 2024, Irving turned a lot of heads as a rookie, rushing for 1,122 yards and eight touchdowns while earning a spot on the PFWA All-Rookie Team and being voted 6th for the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.
Going into his sophomore campaign, expectations are now high for Irving, who has developed somewhat of a cult following in the NFL, especially amongst fantasy football players.
On Monday, when ranking the best running backs in the NFL, ESPN didn’t quite put Irving in the top 10, but they did give him the top spot amongst honorable mentions.
“Combination of speed, quicks and contact balance,” an NFL coordinator told ESPN. “Heck of a runner. Rarely goes down on first contact.”
After splitting time with Rachaad White for the most part last season, there is an expectation that Irving will enter 2025 as the lead back in Tampa Bay and get a lion’s share of the workload. What he will do with that opportunity is yet to be seen, but Oregon fans can remember fondly the breakout he had in 2023 after splitting the load with Noah Whittington in 2022. Irving was named to the Pac-12 All-Second Team with 186 rushes, 1,180 yards, and 11 TDs, plus 56 catches, 413 yards, and 2 TDs.
At Ducks Wire, we are counting down the top 25 Oregon players over the past 25 years this month, and Irving kicked things off on Monday, ranked No. 25.
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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Bucky Irving earns mention in ESPN’s ranking of NFL’s best RBs in 2025