Buccaneers star lands on FOX Sports’ top draft picks of 2024

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and general manager Jason Licht are gearing up for yet another NFL Draft after recently hitting on many of their selections over the past few years.

After a successful free agency period, the Bucs' brass will enter the war room at One Buc Place in a week for the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft that is being held in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Before the Buccaneers make their selections in the 2025 Draft, FOX Sports evaluated the 2024 draft class and ranked their top-10 selections made a year ago. To no surprise, Tampa Bay landed their star running back Bucky Irving on the list, coming in as the 10th best pick from 2024.

The 2024 NFL Draft class is still developing, but some rookies have already made major impacts. Here are the 10 best picks from last year’s draft, with plenty of time for others to make this list ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/0SsSnedm4L
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) April 16, 2025

The former electrifying Oregon Duck was a steal for the Bucs, a hidden gem, if you will, and despite starting his career as the backup to Rachaad White he quickly surpassed him to become the starter in the latter half of the season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Carolina Panthers. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Irving was so good that he quickly became a national favorite and a fantasy footballer's best friend. His shiftiness and vision allowed him to be one of the best in the league at eluding tackles and drastically helped the once porous Bucs' running game turn into one of the league's best.

Irving finished his rookie season with over 1,000 rushing yards and eight touchdowns and also added another 392 yards through the air. One could make the case that Irving deserves to be higher on the list given where he was drafted and his output on the season. However, it is good to see he is being recognized and he will look to expand upon his rookie season as he enters 2025 as the team's lead back.

Stick with BucsGameday for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the 2025 offseason.

Follow BucsGameday on Twitter and Facebook

More Tampa Bay Buccaneers News

• Buccaneers rival Falcons predicted to lose QB to Browns

• NFL insider urges Buccaneers to make bold trade move

• Should the Tampa Bay Buccaneers trade for Jalen Ramsey?

• Buccaneers rival Saints predicted to trade for new QB