Bucky Irving or Drake London: Who Should You Start?

2026 Week 1 · deterministic head-to-head · Verdicts based on PPR scoring.

Start London — the consensus rank and projection edges are too wide to ignore.

Drake London is the higher consensus play (WR8 to RB25) and projects 15.1 to Irving's 12.4. Irving's edge is the game script, 23.5 implied points to 19.8. The gap is wide.

Bucky Irving

Bucky Irving

RB25TBvs CIN

Projected Points

Toss-Up· medium
Drake London

Drake London

WR8ATLvs PIT

Projected Points

Start

Why Bucky Irving

Toss-Up· medium

RB1 and feature back. Elusive one-cut runner with excellent contact balance and pass-game usage.

Irving's 62% snap share keeps him TB's lead back, but Gainwell on passing downs and Tucker at the goal line cap the PPR ceiling at RB25 / 12.4 points.

  • CIN ranks 26 of 32 against RBs (one of the softer matchups, 0-game sample).
  • Vegas implies 23.5 team points as 3.5-point underdogs.
  • Listed RB on the latest depth chart with a 62% snap share in 2025.

The call

  • He's still the depth-chart RB1 with a 62% snap share and an 11% target share over 10 games, so the volume floor is real — this is a flex-caliber body, not a dart throw.
  • The committee news is the problem: Gainwell was signed off a 73-catch season to take passing-situation work and Tucker (seven rushing TDs last season) is expected to keep goal-line duty, which squeezes both receptions and touchdowns — the two things that push a PPR back past 12 points.
  • Matchup grades soft at 26 of 32 vs RBs, but that composite is a 0-game sample with 0.00 confidence, so it can't be the tiebreaker; a 23.5 implied total in a 3.5-point game is only average script.
  • Tip: if Gainwell's passing-down snaps stay limited early, Irving jumps to a comfortable RB2 start — in an RB-thin 12-team roster, 12.4 projected already beats most waiver flexes.

Why Drake London

Start

WR1 and primary target. Big-bodied X receiver who wins contested catches at the catch point with elite ball skills.

Start — every-week WR start at consensus WR8: PIT is the 8th-softest matchup vs WRs, 31% target share in 2025.

  • PIT ranks 25 of 32 against WRs (one of the softer matchups, 0-game sample).
  • Vegas implies 19.8 team points as 3.0-point underdogs.
  • Listed WR on the latest depth chart with a 91% snap share in 2025.

Head-to-head stats

MetricBucky IrvingDrake London
Projected points
Consensus rankRB25WR8
Opponent vs positionCIN · 26 of 320-game samplePIT · 25 of 320-game sample
Rushing Yards32 of 32—
Rushing TDs19 of 32—
Rushing Attempts23 of 32—
Receptions24 of 3230 of 32
Receiving Yards29 of 3228 of 32
Anytime TD26 of 3218 of 32
Receiving TDs—22 of 32
Targets—29 of 32
Target share11%(2025)31%(2025)
Reception share15%(2025)29%(2025)
Implied total · spread23.5+3.519.8+3.0
Depth chartRB1WR1
Snap share62%(2025)91%(2025)
Start/Sit record0–0+1 toss-up—

Signal breakdown

  • 12.4 vs 15.1 projected PPR pointsDrake London +
  • Rank 25 vs 8Drake London +
  • Opponent DvP rank 26 vs 25 (32 = softest)even
  • Implied 23.5 vs 19.8 team pointsBucky Irving +
  • No injury designationseven
  • 62% vs 91% snap shareDrake London +

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