Rachaad White was a bell-cow back last year for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, getting 272 carries and making 64 catches to establish himself as a strong RB2 with RB1 upside. Even after the Bucs drafted Bucky Irving, most fantasy managers assumed White would retain his lead-dog position, which he has. Until now.
After a third straight sub-par performance from White, and another breakout performance by Irving, Bucs coach Todd Bowles said today that Irving has "earned more snaps" going forward.
That's great news for anyone who selected Irving around the 13th round in their fantasy draft, and terrible news for anyone who picked White in the top 3-4 rounds.
So far this year, White has played in 71.6% of the Bucs' plays while Irving has been on the field for 32.9%. In that time, Irving has vastly outperformed White, accumulating 154 rushing yards on 25 carries and 28 receiving yards on 5 catches versus 66 rushing yards on 31 carries and 98 receiving yards on 12 catches for White.
That volume is the only thing currently keeping White relevant in fantasy football. Without it, he profiles as a borderline flex play. And if the Bucs go away from the run as they did in their Week 3 loss against the Broncos, when White had only 6 carries and scored 8.5 points in PPR leagues, he's a liability in the starting lineup.
One of the main reasons the Bucs want to get Irving more touches is he's more explosive than White. He's averaging 6.2 yards per carry. White is averaging 2.1 yards per carry.
To this point, White has been the Bucs primary back. But if this turns into a 50-50 split of playing time, it's hard to envision White producing anything near what managers expected when they drafted him.
Meanwhile, Irving looks like a late-round steal who could profile as a weekly flex play with RB2 upside.
The Bucs play the Eagles in Week 4 and the OVER/UNDER is set at 44.5 points at FanDuel Sportsbook for the game, among the highest in the NFL for this coming week, meaning oddsmakers expect it to be a high-scoring game.
Keep an eye on White and Irving's player props like total rushing yards + receiving yards this week for an idea of what to expect from each.
By the sounds of it, Irving is on the upside while White is trending down.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bucky Irving Fantasy Football Value Soaring While Rachaad White Takes Dip.
