Bucky Irving vs Isiah Pacheco: Who Should You Start?
Bucky Irving and Isiah Pacheco are at different tiers heading into 2026. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back averaged 12.3 PPG in 2025, a full 6.3 points per game ahead of Isiah Pacheco's 6.0 with the Detroit Lions. That kind of gap doesn't close on matchup alone.
Bucky Irving carries a 6.3-point PPG advantage from the 2025 season. That baseline matters, but it is one input among several. Matchup difficulty, scoring trends, and injury reports move the needle week to week, which is why the best answer changes depending on when you are asking.
Both profile as early-down workhorses. Bucky Irving ran for 588 yards and 1 touchdowns; Isiah Pacheco posted 462 and 1. Goal-line share, red zone touches, and which team is favored are usually the tiebreaker when neither back offers passing-game volume.
Bucky Irving has his bye in Week 11, and Isiah Pacheco rests in Week 5. Managers rostering both need waiver wire depth at running back for those two weeks, and that is exactly the kind of planning DraftCall's matchup engine surfaces automatically so you are not scrambling on a Sunday morning.
