Bucky’s Dynasty Value Difficult to Judge With Gainwell
Sell high or hold the line? The Buccaneers’ offseason complicates what was once a straightforward dynasty asset.
Bucky Irving enters the 2026 season with legitimate bounce-back upside and a genuine cloud hanging over his dynasty value. Tampa Bay’s decision to sign former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell to a two-year, $14 million free-agent deal is the primary reason dynasty managers should be asking hard questions right now, not after the season starts.
The backstory is well-established. Irving was among the most impressive backfield revelations of the 2024 season, leading all NFL rookies with 1,514 scrimmage yards and eight rushing touchdowns. His 5.4 yards per carry ranked third in NFL history among rookies with at least 200 rushing attempts, behind only Adrian Peterson and Clinton Portis. The efficiency, the explosiveness, the pass-catching, everything pointed toward a centerpiece talent worth holding in dynasty for years.
Then came 2025. Lower-body and shoulder injuries sidelined Irving for seven games, and when he returned, he was clearly compromised. He finished with 865 scrimmage yards, four touchdowns, and 3.4 yards per carry, a sharp drop from the year before. He had offseason shoulder surgery, though reports indicate his recovery is on track.
The injury history is one concern. Kenneth Gainwell is another.
In Pittsburgh last season, Gainwell quietly put together the best year of his career. He totaled 1,023 yards from scrimmage, scored eight touchdowns, and hauled in 73 passes on 85 targets. For those still using the ZeroRB strategy, he was an award winner if you made him your guy.
Gainwell is one of the most productive pass-catching backs in the league. Third-down work, screen passes, check-downs, and garbage time that round out a back’s fantasy profile and push a complementary player from a role player to a genuine flex stud.
But whoa, let’s not get too carried away… Irving is still the lead back in Tampa Bay. He led the Buccaneers with 173 carries even in his injury-plagued 2025 season. But Gainwell’s two-year, $10 million-guaranteed contract is not a backup signing. It is a co-featured role, and the coaching staff has already shown a willingness to distribute the backfield workload.
Dynasty Impact
This is the sell-high window IMO. Irving’s dynasty price remains inflated relative to his current situation. Managers who held him through his 2024 breakout have him rostered at a value that predates the injury setback, the Gainwell signing, and the lingering questions about his durability.
He is a 23-year-old with elite rushing traits, and that will keep his dynasty cost elevated for now. But the ceiling of a workhorse bell-cow back, the role his 2024 season suggested he could hold, has narrowed meaningfully. A dynasty manager willing to sell Irving at near-peak value right now, before the new backfield hierarchy becomes obvious to the broader market, would be making a defensible, forward-looking decision. Target a manager still pricing Irving like a 2024 asset.