Buccaneers Rookie RB Gets Bad News on Postseason Honor

The disrespect for Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie running back Bucky Irving got put on bold, big-faced display when the NFL released its 5 finalists for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year on January 23.

There were the 3 no-brainers — presumed winner and Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix and Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers.

Daniels is already a Pro Bowler and has his team in the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1991. Nix led his team to the playoffs for the first time in a decade. Bowers was the first rookie to be named NFL All-Pro at tight end since Jeremy Shockey in 2002.

The other 2 finalists — New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers and Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. — were a pair of receivers who each had over 1,200 receiving yards on 2 of the NFL’s worst teams. The Giants went 3-14 and the Jaguars went 4-13.

Irving, on the other hand, was arguably the 1 rookie in the league outside of Daniels and Nix who put up big numbers and did the other, most important thing a football player can do — help his team win. The Buccaneers won their fourth consecutive NFC South Division title and made the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.

From Buccaneers.com’s Brianna Dix: “Irving 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).”

Possible Bias Toward First Round Picks as Finalists

Because the 5 finalists were all first-round picks — Irving was a fourth round pick — it does raise the question as to if there might be some inherent bias toward players picked in the first round … or that Associated Press voters and the NFL are just lazy.

Need more proof? In the last 20 years, a player taken outside the first round has won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year just 3 times, and not since New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara in 2017.

Out of Nabers and Thomas, who were college teammates at LSU, Nabers seems like the clear choice to make the list. He had 109 receptions for 1,204 yards and 7 touchdowns in 15 games while Thomas had 87 receptions for 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns in 17 games but played on the slightly larger dumpster fire of the 2 teams with the Jaguars.

Irving also turned around what had been the NFL’s worst rushing offense the last 2 seasons, propelling them up to third in the NFL.

In terms of even more overlooked stats, Irving also finished with 1,690 all-purpose yards because he was returning kicks until he was injured on a kickoff return late in the season and the Buccaneers’ coaches decided it probably wasn’t a good idea to have their top rushing threat on special teams.

Irving also only started 3 games, doing most of his damage coming off the bench in relief of starter Rachaad White.