This Rookie is my 2024 NFL MVP. You’ll Never Guess Who.
What if I told you the 2024 NFL MVP trophy wasn’t Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson’s award? What if I told you a rookie has the most compelling case? One who wasn’t even in contention for Offensive Rookie of The Year, but might have been the most lethal weapon on the field this season for a team that fought their way back into the playoffs. The man. Bucky Irving. The focal point in a Tampa Buccaneers offense that has been humming with Baker Mayfield at the helm. In large part due to the contribution Bucky Irving has given this team on the ground. Before his arrival in Tampa, Bucky was an elite running back with colossal receiving upside in an Oregon offense that was one of the best in the country. His nearly 1600 yard, 13 TD season as a senior displayed his elite burst, scintillating cuts, and vision at a national level that made him an intriguing player to watch for NFL scouts approaching the Draft. His expectations were relatively modest with the Buccaneers selecting him in the fourth round with the 125th overall draft pick as the initial thought was that the team would lean into their more experienced running back, Rachaad White. Tampa’s former Head Coach Dave Canales had left an offensive imprint on the organization that was centered around Rachaad White’s role as a checkdown pass catching machine for Baker. Even with Bucky not getting half the backfield touches his play has taken the Buccaneers offense to new heights that were unimaginable after Chris Godwin destroyed his leg at the end of their week seven contest.
Bucky has elevated his play to a level that secured the NFC South for the Buccaneers being the ex factor that gives the team a serious shot in the playoffs. Every game he has been providing the consistent spark needed for Baker Mayfield to flourish. Off of Bucky’s game Baker can really get going off of play action, trust Irving as an outlet, and he can find comfort under center knowing that defenses need to respect the threat Bucky poses on the ground. Bucky Irving this season is putting up some of the craziest stats I have seen a rookie put up given context. Context can be deceiving, disagreed upon, and marred when having a personal opinion about someone or something. In Bucky’s case context helps enhance his case for MVP using the facts of the Buccaneers season. He has amassed 1,122 rushing yards and 392 receiving yards with incredible efficiency, while playing 44% of snaps as the Buccaneers running back. To put this into perspective heading into week 18 Saquon had 2,005 yards on 345 carries while Bucky Irving had 1,033 yards on 188 carries. Bucky’s impact has been immeasurable since the first half of the season concluded. Let’s go through the team’s journey to illustrate it.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had been rolling through the season’s first six weeks despite their record being 4-2 losing to the Broncos in embarrassing fashion and the Falcons in a gut wrenching overtime loss. In this overtime loss Bucky Irving had a couple of nice plays and as the game was winding down up 30-27 he toted the rock on a first down carry at the Atlanta thirty yard line with just under three minutes to play. He made a cut, hit the hole, and had a huge lane to go for a touchdown to seal the contest. When he found the crease he didn’t see Falcons All-Pro level safety Jessie Bates swing his arm at the ball in a tomahawk fashion. Fumble. The result, an eventual loss when that play easily could’ve been a game sealing touchdown with good ball security. Bucky was sick on the sideline as the cameras zoomed in on him with a towel draped over his head. He was ashamed of himself at the time considering the game against Atlanta had huge implications on their division moving forward, but ultimately this was the game where he had his rookie learning moment. Due to a horrendous injury two weeks later his services were needed moving forward and this moment would eventually springboard him into being THE guy in the Tampa Bay’s offense.
At the beginning of the 2024 NFL season Chris Godwin and Mike Evans were making strides for Baker as their aerial attack was unstoppable with the pair well on pace for 1,000 yard seasons. Baker was looking like a top five quarterback from a production standpoint, which he would go on to sustain throughout the season. At the end of a massacre by Baltimore on primetime in Week 7 of the NFL season the Buccaneers were still fighting for their own pride down multiple scores. Baker hit Godwin over the middle of the field and what ensued was horrific. He took a low shot to his leg that resulted in his ankle facing sideways as the team’s medical staff rushed onto the field to place his leg in an aircast before he was taken off the field on a cart. Season ending injury. This was supposed to be the end for the Buccaneers. Despite having a 4-3 record Godwin’s absence would most likely do immeasurable damage to an offense that lives and dies by an air raid approach of slinging the rock 35+ times a game. In this same game the team’s best wideout who has been automatic throughout his career Mike Evans went down with what appeared to be a reasonably serious hamstring injury and he would miss the next three contests. This led to a tumultuous slide for Tampa.
In the next three games Tampa would lose each contest with Cade Otton being their top wideout as a tight end and virtually no ground game since Bucky Irving wasn’t involved quite yet. After Week 9 though Bucky would hit the ground running. In week 10 Irving would have a phenomenal contest with 73 yards on only 13 carries in a three point loss to the 49ers. This led to a stretch by Bucky Irving where he would have 100+ yards from scrimmage in five of the next seven games with a formidable 80+ yards from scrimmage in the other two matchups. He put it all together. Protecting the football, gliding past defenders, and doing what an elite running back does, which is to pick up their quarterback when they are struggling. That’s the issue Tampa had in the past with Rachaad White as their lead back. When the passing game was stifled by an elite defense White couldn’t muster anything on the ground. He averaged 3.7 and 3.6 yards per carry in his first two seasons being a liability for this team’s ground game. This year in his best year on the ground from a YPC standpoint his good games are few and far between, but his lessened playing time has boosted this statistic due to a couple solid games. Everyone on the staff has realized that White simply isn’t the lead guy anymore. Paving the way for Irving.
People underestimate how valuable Bucky has been considering he has effectively increased the Buccaneers efficiency in the run game by two yards per carry. That is absolutely absurd. Unheard of. He has a case for providing the most value of any offensive player to their team yet most of the discourse around his name is about how incredible he was in fantasy football. His game is beyond a fantasy football discussion. He is playing at a level that could easily see him sneak up into the range of being one of the top 8-10 running backs in the NFL. Respect this guy’s name and if you haven’t watched him play please put on a Tampa Bay Buccaneers game. I know he has no shot of winning the MVP award, but preseason he wasn’t really expected to do much considering he ran a 4.55 second forty yard dash at 5’ 9’’ which is not an enticing number given his size. He proved everyone wrong though and watching him reverse field or plant his foot into the ground to shift his body into a different direction is quite a sight to see. Although his team just came up short against the Commanders in a game they handed Washington, Bucky continued to show the world how special he is as a player. I can’t wait to see how his career turns out if he’s doing this much as a rookie behind a decent offensive line.
