Fantasy Football Depth Chart Debate: Sean Tucker vs Rachaad White vs Bucky Irving

Sean Tucker surged to RB2 overall in Week 11. He may be taking over as RB1 in Tampa Bay, but Bucky Irving is also due to shake things up upon his return.

Nov 16, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Sean Tucker (44) runs the ball for a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills during the second half of the game at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

The Buccaneers found a great problem to have with Sean Tucker. His three touchdown effort in Week 11 has begun to fuel this depth chart debate. It seems that he may have surpassed Rachaad White as the RB1 in the absence of Bucky Irving. He has played so well that we now will figure out how he will dip into the workload of Irving post-return. All good things here in Tampa Bay, but it must be analyzed for Fantasy Football purposes.

Sean Tucker vs Rachaad White

Congrats to the 11% of users who started Sean Tucker this week 🥳 pic.twitter.com/YIbihMefz2

— Sleeper (@SleeperHQ) November 16, 2025

Tucker was out-snapped 60-44% by White in Week 11. That, however, means very little. Tucker has 19 Attempts to 10 Attempts for White. Tucker had 106 Yards to 51 by White.

Tucker had (2) Targets, the same as White, but he was leveraged much better via an unstoppable wheel route. Tucker had 34 Yards on those receptions, one of which went for a touchdown. This landed Tucker at 140 Total Yards on the day and RB2 in Fantasy Football (Christian McCaffrey).

It has been speculated over the past two weeks that Tucker was in store for more work. His snap-share of 25-35% quickly rose to 44% in Week 11 and now, it appears that he may outsnap White in Week 12. It only seems right. I would project his floor to be 40% of snaps.

The Return of Bucky Irving

Bowles: Bucky Irving (foot, shoulder), Chris Godwin (fibula) will be worked in more during practice this week.

— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) November 17, 2025

The Buccaneers adore Irving. They had said that he would become their bellcow back prior to the year. While healthy, that was pretty much the case as he was playing over 70% of team snaps — the mark of a low-end bellcow back.

Irving was back at practice last week and will continue to rehab this week. It appears that Irving is hopeful to return in Week 12, but much more likely for Week 13. We will know more on Wednesday.

I would not be fooled by one big game out of Tucker. This backfield belongs to Irving. Once he returns, he could require a one game ramp up, but Irving will likely still snap over 65% in his final form. This will render Tucker and White both benchable.

Stock Watch

Post-return Bucky Irving is a low-end RB1 and must-start.

Sean Tucker is a must-start low-end RB2/Flex play in Week 12.

Rachaad White can be benched unless under desperation.

Refer to our Week 12 rankings, releasing on Tuesday.

It is to be noted, if Irving does play Week 12, this backfield may actually be too risky to play anyone. We must stay tuned to see if Irving does play, what his workload could be. He could see a limited snap-share in a one week ramp up, especially if it is this week.

Raw Projected Snap-Splits Post-Irving Return

• Bucky Irving 70%
• Sean Tucker 15-25% (Volatile; Week-to-Week)
• Rachaad White 5-15% (Volatile; Week-to-Week)