The Tampa Bay Buccaneers thought they had all the answers they needed at running back with Rachaad White and Bucky Irving headed into the 2024 regular season.
White was coming off a season in which he had over 1,500 yards of total offense in 2023. The Buccaneers selected Irving in the fourth round (No. 125 overall) of the 2024 NFL draft after an All-Pac-12 season at Oregon in 2023.
Through 6 games, the signature backfield performance for the Buccaneers belongs to neither player — it belongs to undrafted running back Sean Tucker.
Tucker turned in a virtuoso performance in a 51-27 win over the New Orleans Saints on October 13 with 192 yards of total offense and 2 touchdowns — 136 rushing yards and 56 receiving yards — as the Buccaneers improved to 4-2.
Tucker made the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent out of Syracuse in 2023 and rushed for just 23 yards in 11 games as a rookie. Against the Saints, he scored a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown.
“Just whatever I got, I wanted to take advantage of it,” Tucker told Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “I wasn’t really worried about how many touches I would get. I just wanted to play great out there.”
Tucker One of CFB’s Best Running Backs at Syracuse
Tucker is no stranger to being the featured back in an offense. He had 3,801 yards of total offense and 31 total touchdowns in 3 seasons at Syracuse, where he was a 2-time All-ACC selection and an All-American in 2021 after he rushed for 1,496 yards.
Still, the 5-foot-9, 207-pound Tucker went undrafted in 2023 despite being projected as a fourth or fifth round pick by NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein.
“Compact, early down backup candidate with adequate size, good contact balance and instinctive features that create opportunities outside the blocking scheme,” Zierlein wrote in his pre-draft evaluation. “Tucker lacks the slashing qualities needed to speed through the line and past linebackers. However, he can navigate run lanes and has plenty of balance to keep the run moving after contact. He has lateral elusiveness and the build-up speed to outrun defenders in the open field.”
White, Irving Haven’t Delivered on Potential in ’24
Even with the NFL’s worst rushing attack in 2023, the Buccaneers still had faith things would work themselves out in 2024 with White and Irving.
It just hasn’t happened like they wanted it to. Tucker was the first Tampa Bay running back to pass the 100-yard rushing mark in 2024 and came with White missing his first game in 3 seasons with a hamstring injury.
Tucker’s big day also overshadowed Irving’s best game as a pro as he ran for 82 yards and 1 touchdown on 14 carries.
Moving forward, it seems like a no-brainer that Tucker will be the featured running back for the Buccaneers as they head into what could be a season-defining stretch of games — Tampa Bay is 4-2 and has 3 legitimate Super Bowl contenders in its next 4 games before a bye in Week 11.
That stretch includes home games against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football (October 21) and San Francisco 49ers (November 10). There’s also another Monday Night Football game at the 2-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs (November 4).
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