The Bucs might be sitting on a sleeper running back. Bucky Irving and Rachaad White have done some good things the last two years, but they’ve also got unheralded Sean Tucker.
Tucker, recall, wasn’t even drafted coming out of Syracuse back in 2023, but he looked like an NFL back at times last year. Especially at New Orleans, where he came off the bench to run for 136 yards and a touchdown, at over 9 yards per attempt, with an additional 56 yards on 3 catches, with another touchdown.
Granted, the Saints were playing some of the season’s worst run defense at that time (the Broncos similarly carved them up the next week). But those are remarkable numbers. And Tucker wasn’t bad in their other games, averaging 4.8 per attempt. (He closed the season at 6.2 per carry).
Tucker ran for 2,556 yards and 23 touchdowns his final two years at Syracuse, with another 4 TDs on 56 catches. He looks legit, and Bucs GM Jason Licht says he thinks he looks like a No. 1 back. Todd Bowles says he expects the Bucs will be using Tucker more this year.
Certainly, Irving is starting, but I don’t think it would be surprising if Tucker moves past White in the pecking order. (As a runner, anyway – White is really good as a pass catcher.) If Tucker moves up to No. 2 on the depth chart, then we could be looking at something should Irving break down.
The comp numbers aren’t as promising. In my estimation, I see 20 other running backs kind of like Tucker in the 32-team era – guys who averaged at least 5.7 yards per attempt in their first or second season while carrying the ball at least 30 times (but fewer than 80 times). In short, guys showing some promise with a small sample size. That’s what we’ve seen from Tucker, and also from Isaiah Davis in New York.
| FLASHING SOME POTENTIAL | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | St | Att | Run | Avg | TD | Receiving | PPR | Rk |
| 2001 | Trung Canidate, St.L. | 2 | 78 | 441 | 5.7 | 6 | 17-154-0 | 112.5 | 39 |
| 2001 | Michael Wiley, Dall. | 0 | 34 | 247 | 7.3 | 0 | 16-99-1 | 56.6 | 66 |
| 2001 | LaMont Jordan, NYJ | 0 | 39 | 292 | 7.5 | 1 | 7-44-1 | 52.6 | 71 |
| 2003 | Maurice Morris, Sea. | 1 | 38 | 239 | 6.3 | 0 | 4-32-1 | 37.1 | 86 |
| 2004 | Willie Parker, Pitt. | 0 | 32 | 186 | 5.8 | 0 | 3-16-0 | 23.2 | 104 |
| 2004 | Mewelde Moore, Min. | 3 | 65 | 379 | 5.8 | 0 | 27-238-0 | 88.7 | 45 |
| 2005 | Michael Turner, S.D. | 0 | 57 | 335 | 5.9 | 3 | 0-0-0 | 51.5 | 73 |
| 2008 | Felix Jones, Dall. | 0 | 30 | 266 | 8.9 | 3 | 2-10-0 | 53.6 | 75 |
| 2011 | Evan Royster, Was. | 2 | 56 | 328 | 5.9 | 0 | 9-68-0 | 48.6 | 77 |
| 2014 | Joseph Randle, Dall. | 0 | 51 | 343 | 6.7 | 3 | 4-23-0 | 58.6 | 74 |
| 2015 | Chris Thompson, Was. | 0 | 35 | 216 | 6.2 | 0 | 35-240-2 | 92.6 | 55 |
| 2016 | Ty Montgomery, G.B. | 6 | 77 | 457 | 5.9 | 3 | 44-348-0 | 142.5 | 33 |
| 2016 | C.J. Prosise, Sea. | 2 | 30 | 172 | 5.7 | 1 | 17-208-0 | 61.0 | 67 |
| 2019 | Rashaad Penny, Sea. | 0 | 65 | 370 | 5.7 | 3 | 8-83-1 | 77.3 | 58 |
| 2019 | Jordan Wilkins, Ind. | 1 | 51 | 307 | 6.0 | 2 | 7-43-0 | 54.0 | 70 |
| 2019 | Derrius Guice, Was. | 1 | 42 | 245 | 5.8 | 2 | 7-79-1 | 57.4 | 69 |
| 2022 | Jordan Mason, S.F. | 0 | 43 | 258 | 6.0 | 1 | 0-0-0 | 31.8 | 87 |
| 2022 | Elijah Mitchell, S.F. | 1 | 45 | 279 | 6.2 | 2 | 3-7-0 | 43.6 | 82 |
| 2023 | Keaton Mitchell, Balt. | 2 | 47 | 396 | 8.4 | 2 | 9-93-0 | 69.9 | 59 |
| 2024 | Sean Tucker, T.B. | 0 | 50 | 308 | 6.2 | 2 | 9-109-1 | 68.7 | 57 |
| 2024 | Isaiah Davis, NYJ | 0 | 30 | 174 | 5.8 | 1 | 9-75-1 | 45.9 | 71 |
These guys have not, alas, proven to be a treasure trove of production. Of these 20, only one went on to put up big numbers the next year. Willie Parker (20 years ago) ran for 1,202 yards, finishing as the 18th-best running back that year.
Only three other running backs from this group started more than one game in their next season – Mewelde Moore (8 starts), Joseph Randle (6) and Ty Montgomery (5). Michael Turner and LaMont Jordan went on to do some good things, but not until later in their careers.
| THOSE SAME BACKS IN THEIR NEXT SEASON | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | St | Att | Run | Avg | TD | Receiving | PPR | Rk |
| 2002 | LaMont Jordan, NYJ | 0 | 84 | 316 | 3.8 | 3 | 17-160-0 | 82.6 | 51 |
| 2002 | Michael Wiley, Dall. | 1 | 22 | 168 | 7.6 | 1 | 13-144-0 | 50.2 | 75 |
| 2002 | Trung Canidate, St.L. | 1 | 17 | 48 | 2.8 | 0 | 4-31-0 | 11.9 | 118 |
| 2004 | Maurice Morris, Sea. | 0 | 30 | 126 | 4.2 | 0 | 9-53-0 | 26.9 | 97 |
| 2005 | Willie Parker, Pitt. | 15 | 255 | 1202 | 4.7 | 4 | 18-218-1 | 190.0 | 18 |
| 2005 | Mewelde Moore, Min. | 8 | 155 | 662 | 4.3 | 1 | 37-339-2 | 161.1 | 26 |
| 2006 | Michael Turner, S.D. | 0 | 80 | 502 | 6.3 | 2 | 3-47-0 | 69.9 | 58 |
| 2009 | Felix Jones, Dall. | 1 | 116 | 685 | 5.9 | 3 | 19-119-0 | 117.4 | 43 |
| 2012 | Evan Royster, Was. | 0 | 23 | 88 | 3.8 | 2 | 15-109-0 | 46.7 | 74 |
| 2015 | Joseph Randle, Dall. | 6 | 76 | 315 | 4.1 | 4 | 10-86-0 | 74.1 | 69 |
| 2016 | Chris Thompson, Was. | 0 | 68 | 356 | 5.2 | 3 | 49-349-2 | 149.5 | 28 |
| 2017 | Ty Montgomery, G.B. | 5 | 71 | 273 | 3.9 | 3 | 23-173-1 | 91.6 | 54 |
| 2017 | C.J. Prosise, Sea. | 0 | 11 | 23 | 2.1 | 0 | 6-87-0 | 17.0 | 106 |
| 2020 | Jordan Wilkins, Ind. | 0 | 84 | 308 | 3.7 | 1 | 12-105-0 | 61.3 | 70 |
| 2020 | Rashaad Penny, Sea. | 0 | 11 | 34 | 3.1 | 0 | 0-0-0 | 3.4 | 143 |
| 2020 | Derrius Guice, Was. | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 | 0 | 0-0-0 | .0 | -- |
| 2023 | Elijah Mitchell, S.F. | 1 | 75 | 281 | 3.8 | 2 | 6-14-0 | 47.5 | 64 |
| 2023 | Jordan Mason, S.F. | 0 | 40 | 206 | 5.2 | 3 | 3-31-0 | 44.7 | 69 |
| 2024 | Keaton Mitchell, Balt. | 0 | 15 | 30 | 2.0 | 0 | 1-28-0 | 6.8 | 115 |
| 2025 | Sean Tucker, T.B. | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?-?-? | ? | ? |
| 2025 | Isaiah Davis, NYJ | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?-?-? | ? | ? |
As things stand, I’ve got Tucker as one of those interesting guys to keep an eye on, but I don’t think there’s quite enough there at this point to where I would actually draft him onto a roster. (At least in one of those typical leagues, with maybe 65 running backs picked.)
—Ian Allan