BREAKING: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Select RB Bucky Irving With No. 125 in NFL Draft

The Buccaneers have added to their running back room, selecting a powerful runner to ease the load for starter, Rachaad White.

Jan 1, 2024; Glendale, AZ, USA; Oregon Ducks running back Bucky Irving (0) hurdles over Liberty / Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

With their fifth pick in the 2024 NFL draft, the Buccaneers have used their fourth-round selection (125th overall) to draft Bucky Irving, a running back out of the University of Oregon.

Irving is a 5'10", 195-pound back who gets everything out of his frame. He's an elusive runner with good contact balance who does a great job of evading defenders with his quickness as opposed to raw speed. Irving is a natural running back, with great vision and instincts for the position. Those traits were on full display this past season for the powerhouse Oregon Ducks where he started all 14 games and was named to the 2nd team All-Pac12 conference team.

He averaged an impressive 6.3 yards per carry, en route to totaling 1,180 yards on the season along with a team-leading 11 rushing TDs. Irving is also a very capable receiver, having hauled in 56 receptions for 413 yards and 2 receiving TDs.

So far, the Bucs have been very efficient in addressing a variety of team needs by spreading their picks across different position groups. In the first round, Tampa Bay selected center, Graham Barton to help reinforce their offensive line. In the second round, they selected Chris Braswell, a relentless and physical edge rusher out of Alabama to bring some more juice to their pass rush. With their first of two picks in the third round, the Buccaneers took Tykee Smith, a talented nickel corner and safety with championship experience out of Georgia before selecting wide receiver, Jalen McMillan, just a few picks later. McMillan is a smooth and talented slot receiver who comes from a loaded wide receiver room out of the University of Washington.

So far, each member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2024 draft class can be expected to contribute early and often next season. Each player will need to compete in order to earn their opportunities, of course, but there's no question about the talent, production, and upside that each of these prospects will bring to the table for the Bucs this season.

Unless Jason Licht feels compelled to make a trade, the Buccaneers, who are without a fifth-round pick, will have quite a wait before they have the chance to make their next selection. As it stands, Tampa Bay isn’t slated to make a pick until the sixth round (225th overall), with just one seventh-round pick (246) remaining after that.

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