Hey, Packer Nation. I know his size/weight/speed combo is outside of what Green Bay normally goes for and a lot of you are pouring dirt on his grave post-combine, but I am here to argue that Bucky Irving is a perfect fit for the Packers RB room. Lets go through the pros and cons together, shall we?

Bucky Never Goes Down

As I started watching the RBs in this class, Bucky’s clips immediately jumped off the screen to me because he simply refuses to go down. No matter what play you’re watching, you will see the defenders converge on him and you form an expectation of where he’ll be tackled. He never goes down in that spot. He ALWAYS finds a way to 2-3 more yards, often more. It’s so consistent it begins to look like a super power.

For a Packers team that lost in the Divisional round because of their inability to convert in the short-yardage game, adding a guy who can move the chains in key situations would be really nice.

More Quick Than Fast

Bucky isn’t going to blow your hair back with his straight-line speed. Bucky is more quick than fast, this is reflected in the 10-yard split in his 40 time, he’s explosive and elite in space, which is where he beats you. There are RBs who are faster, but if you’re trying to bring him down in the open field, you’re going to miss.

Look at his fluidity in this jump cut:

Hands on Hands on Hands

Ladies and Gentlemen, Bucky Irving can CATCH the ball. The drills at the combine are illustrative on this score. Look how natural he is in these situations. Coach LaFleur can think of a million ways to utilize this skill. Trust me.

Bucky Has Packer Character

One of my favorite attributes of the new-era Packers is their selflessness. I’ve already written about how Romeo Doubs exemplifies this tradition and I think Bucky Irving would do the same. Listen to this outstanding answer he gave to the question “What was you favorite college memory”

A guy who thinks of others and doesn’t puff himself up?? Oh, yes. He can be a Packer all day long.

Tape Over Everthing

If you spend more than 5 minutes on Packers Twitter, you know they have a “type” and guys with a poor RAS, like Bucky has, aren’t likely to be Packers. But just turn on the tape and tell me that guy can’t play for us. All he does is give 100% on every play and help his team win. There is absolutely a role for him in Green Bay and the Packers would be wise to put him on the squad.