How Oregon running back Bucky Irving performed at the NFL Combine
During his final season at Oregon, Bucky Irving delivered one of the most productive seasons by a running back in program history.
At the NFL Combine in Indianapolis on Saturday, Irving stood out during position drills but struggled during testing.
Irving measured at 5-foot-9, 192 pounds. That’s one inch shorter and three pounds heavier than he was listed by UO during the 2023 season.
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Irving’s 40-yard dash time of 5.44 seconds ranked 14th among the 20 running backs who participated in the test. His 29.5-inch vertical ranked last among the 20 backs who attempted a jump, and his 9-foot-7 broad jump ranked 19th.
Irving looked sharp during position drills, though.
Irving earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors in 2023 after rushing for 1,063 yards and 10 touchdowns on 172 carries (6.18 yards per carry). He ranked ninth nationally with 63 missed tackles forced. During Oregon’s rivalry win over Oregon State, Irving became just the sixth running back in program history to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark in multiple seasons.
Bucky Irving NFL.com scouting report
“Compact and willful, Irving is deeply committed to each run his play-caller trusts him with. Irving punches above his weight class with excellent contact balance and leg drive to fight through tackles and squeeze every yard out of the run. For being such a high-effort runner, Irving has a remarkably low fumble rate. He is frequently in a rush and would rather run through a wall than around it, but he does have the agility to make tacklers miss with wide, lateral cuts when he runs with better patience. Irving isn’t ready for NFL protection duties but can help as a pass catcher. He can step in quickly as a hard-charging complementary piece that helps keep the chains moving on the ground.” – Lance Zierlein
Strengths
- Built low to the ground with bendy lowers and a powerful base.
- Decisive downhill charges create a head of steam for what is to come.
- Possesses elusive features including spin move and lateral jump cut.
- Good run-through power to break tackles and extend the carry.
- Only one fumble over 486 carries during his career.
- Average hands but makes an impression on the stat sheet as a pass catcher.
Weaknesses
- Doesn’t have ideal size to take on the heavy collisions he sees each game.
- Gets into too much of a hurry and rushes ahead of blocking development.
- Feet fly outside his frame during change of direction, limiting cut fluidity.
- Below-average press and finesse getting into his run-lane choice.
- Needs to improve his protection technique to deal with NFL blitzers.
