One analyst thinks Bucky Irving's value could fetch significant draft capital, despite recent injury setbacks impacting his stock.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers might not trade anybody of note over the offseason, but if they did, well, some are greater assets than others.
For Pro Football Focus’ John Kosko, no player would net a greater return for the Bucs than a man named Bucky.
Bucky Irving has had an up and down NFL career so far.
His rookie season was a good one: Irving rushed for more than 1,100 yards, which were almost 300 more than any other rookie RB.
Year 2 didn’t go as well for Irving. Injuries limited him to 10 games, and when he was healthy enough to play, a shoulder that eventually required surgery still hampered him.
His final numbers were 588 yards and a single touchdown on 173 carries, good for a 3.4 average that was a full two yards below that of the previous season.
Kosko wrote that Irving's rookie season happened recently enough for teams to still be impressed by it, perhaps enough to send draft capital Tampa's way. He also opied that it's easier to find a quality running back later in the draft than it is to find players at some other positions.
So is it realistic for Tampa to trade Irving?
As of now, there's little evidence to suggest that it is.
Some of the best teams in the NFL use more than one running back heavily in the offense. For example, both of the most recent Super Bowl participants-- the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots-- had two runningbacks eclipse 600 yards. So when the Bucs signed Kenneth Gainwell from the Pittsburgh Steelers on the first day of free agency, it's likely they did it to bolster the backfield, not to replace Irving.
A backfield where Irving and Gainwell are the top two backs looks more appealing than if Tampa's top two backs were Gainwell and Sean Tucker, who has never been a top two back in his career, or a backfield of Gainwell and an un-proven rookie.
Kosko didn't necessairly predict that Irving would be traded, and the premise of the article was to detail every team's most tradable asset.
As it is, the Bucs have a solid one-two punch, assuming, of course, that both stay healthy. Gainwell was the Steelers' team MVP last season, ending the year with 537 yards rushing and 486 yards receiving. New offensive coordinator Zac Robinson is fond of using two backs, even finding a way to work Tyler Allgeier into the rotation amid Bijan Robinson's dominance with the Atlanta Falcons.
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