Rachaad White was a strong fantasy football asset last season, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made news in April when they spent a fourth-round pick on Bucky Irving, a versatile running back out of Oregon who racked up over 1,500 scrimmage yards in his final collegiate season.
Instead of gaining clarity, this backfield has only gotten more difficult to handicap with time. This is an offense averaging 24.3 points per game and can provide value to an RB, but asking them to support a pair of running backs is a tough ask.
Can one of these options take over in Week 5? Let us help you identify the correct running back to start for your fantasy league this upcoming week.
Rachaad White’s Fantasy Outlook This Week
All stats are from TruMedia unless otherwise stated.
This is a tenuous situation at best and could prove to be the toughest few weeks for evaluating Tampa Bay’s backfield.
If you told me that the Bucs had a lead back who would get 70% of the work, I’d be excited about ranking that player as a top-15 option. Unfortunately, that’s not the world in which we live, and thus, neither White nor Irving is a must-play for me in Week 5.
White racked up 234 yards against the Atlanta Falcons last season, including a season-high 102 rushing yards at Atlanta in a four-point win. This backfield could end up reaching triple figures as a tandem, but given that White hasn’t carried the rock more than 10 times since the season opener, why should we assume that he’s receiving enough usage to justify starting?
White has three straight finishes as RB29 or worse, and this matchup isn’t ideal for a running back who relies on the passing game to pay the fantasy bills; Atlanta is allowing the third-fewest yards per running back target this season.
White and Irving sit back to back in my RB rankings in the mid-20s.
Gross.
Bucky Irving’s Fantasy Outlook This Week
The rookie has a touchdown or a 30-yard rush in three or four games and looks an awfully lot like old-school Tony Pollard to White’s inefficient Ezekiel Elliott.
OK, so that may be a bit dramatic, but Irving looks the part of a second-half-of-the-season breakout candidate, and the buying window may still be open if the manager with him isn’t yet sold on the direction of this offense.
Irving got the first-half carry in scoring position last week, and it only feels like a matter of time until he emerges as the preferred fantasy option.
Bucky Irving's first TD!
📺: #PHIvsTB on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/4Fiwvb3sHT— NFL (@NFL)
Should You Start White or Irving This Week?
Without the presence of the other, either of these backs would have a chance to crack my top 15 at the position. However, with both at full strength, neither is a top-20 running back this week for me.
- In Weeks 1-3, White was on the field for every Tampa Bay red-zone snap, but in Week 4, Irving saw a 60% snap share in such spots to White’s 46.7%.
- In Weeks 1-3, White held a 64-22 edge over Irving in routes run, an advantage that was just 23-17 in Week 4.
All the trends are pointing in the direction of the rookie, though my concern in going all in on Irving before actually seeing it is the duplication of skills. Both he and White thrive on making plays in space and, at the moment, both are getting those opportunities.
In theory, that sounds like a positive. But it creates a floor situation for both that wouldn’t exist if they had complementary skill sets. If either runs hot to start the game, the other could be a zero.
Irving is trending in the right direction and is the player I have ranked higher for the remainder of the season. That said, I won’t have it that way in my weekly rankings until we get proof that the Buccaneers are willing to fully feature him.
As mentioned, they are ranked back to back for me in this spot, both profiling as Flex plays with a wide range of outcomes. I suspect this backfield will be a headache for weeks to come, though I do like Irving to eventually win out and hold RB2 status as we near the end of the fantasy regular season.
