By the end of the 2024 regular season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers knew what they had in rookie running back Bucky Irving. They figured it out just in time to put the ball in his hands enough to help lift them into the postseason for the fifth consecutive season.
While Irving’s rookie year was nothing short of a revelation, it seems to have gone largely unnoticed by most of the rest of the NFL. There’s been little to no buzz about the Buccaneers’ running game this offseason despite going from dead last in the NFL in rushing in 2022 and 2023 to No. 7 in the entire league in 2024.
There’s also a practical comparison we can use in trying to project how good Irving could eventually become â his rookie year was almost a carbon copy of 5-time Pro Bowler Alvin Kamara’s rookie year with the New Orleans Saints in 2017.
Irving and Kamara Had Almost Identical Stat Lines as Rookies
Irving and Kamara already had a lot in common before they became statistical twins as rookies. Let’s start with their similar size â Kamara is 5-foot-10 and 215 pounds while Irving is 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds.
They were both also mid-round draft picks â Kamara in the third round (No. 67 overall) of the 2017 NFL draft and Irving in the fourth round (No. 125 overall) of the 2024 NFL draft.
Both Kamara and Irving were named to the All-Rookie Team, but Kamara was also named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. Kamara finished his rookie season with 1,554 yards of total offense and 13 total touchdowns while Irving had 1,514 yards of total offense and 8 total touchdowns.
While Kamara had a distinct advantage catching the ball with 81 receptions for 826 yards and 5 touchdowns, Irving had a distinct advantage running the ball with 1,122 rushing yards compared to 728 rushing yards for Kamara.
Another interesting stat the 2 have in common? Both played every single game as rookies but made just 3 starts â Irving on the bench behind Rachaad White and Kamara behind Mark Ingram.
The odds of Irving having another really good to great season are pretty good. The odds of him being able to do it as long as Kamara has are not.
In 8 NFL seasons, Kamara has averaged 1,442 yards of total offense per season, including a career-low 1,160 yards in 2023 when he missed a career-high 4 games, including a 3-game suspension to start the season.
Kamara’s success has also made him one of the NFL’s highest paid running backs. He signed a 5-year, $75 million contract extension in 2020 and re-upped with the Saints on a 2-year, $24.5 million contract extension in 2024.
Irving Snubbed as NFL Offensive ROY Finalist
Irving might take some motivation from a snub following his rookie season after being left off the list of NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year finalists â all 5 of whom were first round picks. Kamara is actually the last player to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year who wasn’t a first round pick.
From Buccaneers.comâs Brianna Dix: âIrving led all rookies in rushing yards (1,122) and rushing touchdowns (8), while averaging 5.4 yards per attempt. His 5.4 yards per carry marked the third-highest mark in NFL history among rookies with at least 200 rushing attempts in a season, trailing only Adrian Peterson (5.6 in 2007) and Clinton Portis (5.5 in 2002) ⦠Irving added 47 receptions for 392 yards to total 1,514 yards from scrimmage. He became just the fourth rookie since 2018 to surpass 1,500 scrimmage yards, joining Puka Nacua (2023), Najee Harris (2022) and Saquon Barkley (2018).â
Tampa Bay has had 2 players win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year; running back Warrick Dunn in 1997 and running back Cadillac Williams in 2005.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Buccaneers’ 1,500 Yard RB Called ‘Carbon Copy’ of $75 Million NFC South Rival appeared first on Heavy Sports.