The Tampa Bay Buccaneers head into the new season with plenty of offensive continuity personnel-wise, along with a new coordinator implementing a creative, versatile run scheme.
Rachaad White will reprise his diverse, high-volume lead-back role from 2023, and he’s joined by a talented new complementary option in rookie Bucky Irving. What’s the fantasy football outlook for each player heading into 2024?
Rachaad White’s Fantasy Outlook and Projections
- PPR fantasy Points: 278.5 (202.4 Non-PPR)
- Rushing Yards: 982.4
- Rushing Touchdowns: 4.7
- Receptions: 76.1
- Receiving Yards: 560.3
- Receiving Touchdowns: 3.3
For me, White’s profile offers several more paths to disappointment than avenues to further improvement. He has averaged just 3.7 yards per carry for his career, and his next 40-yard rush or 45-touch will be his first as a professional.
As if White’s overall profile was prohibitive enough, the Bucs selected Irving (back-to-back seasons with 1,000+ rushing yards at Oregon, averages four catches per game last year) in the fourth round and still have Sean Tucker (over 3,000 rushing yards during his three seasons at Syracuse) if they want to explore committee options on the ground.
White is being treated as a fringe RB1, coming off of draft boards in the same range as Isiah Pacheco and James Cook. That’s not a price you’ll see me paying this summer, a fade I am very comfortable in making.
If you’re on the clock in the fourth round, White is, for me, well behind those featured backs, not to mention pass catchers like Amari Cooper, Keenan Allen, and both of Lamar Jackson’s primary targets in Baltimore, whom I view as much more stable assets in 2024.
If you think White will assume a similar role to the one he held during last season’s entirety, you’re getting a good price, especially in full-PPR leagues. That said, this is a fragile profile that can’t survive much regression (be it in his role or in the offense as a whole).
– Kyle Soppe, Fantasy Football Analyst
Bucky Irving’s Fantasy Outlook and Projections
- PPR fantasy Points: 75.5 (63.9 Non-PPR)
- Rushing Yards: 379.0
- Rushing Touchdowns: 2.1
- Receptions: 11.5
- Receiving Yards: 115.0
- Receiving Touchdowns: 0.3
White is very good at what he does, but what he doesn’t isn’t that of a complete back (3.7 yards per carry for his career). You could argue that Irving has a similar skill profile to White (53 catches last season at Oregon), and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
That limits his ability to hold standalone value as long as White is healthy, but it also would require less offensive shuffling in the event that White was to miss time. That roster construction by the Buccaneers, for me, puts Irving on the list of backup running backs that I’m prioritizing in the final rounds, understanding that, without a role elevation, he’s never going to move from that spot.
– Kyle Soppe, Fantasy Football Analyst