Kenneth Gainwell
Tampa Bay BuccaneersKenneth Gainwell is an RB for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a deal paying $7M a year through 2027, a $7.0M cap hit in 2026 (updated November 6, 2026).
Model Score by season
Down 7.5 from last season.
How good he is at what he is supposed to be doing, out of 100. Not a projection of what he will do next, and not a read on his contract. Median is about 70, and a 95 is rare. How it is built →
STM Take
A pass-catching back whose breakout is one year old.
The case for
- 54-rank jump from 2024 to 2025; that move is one of the three largest on the RB board this year.
- Career 175 receptions and 1,207 receiving yards make him one of the more proven pass-game backs at this rank level.
The worry
- Pre-2025 career line reads STTM #45, #53, #70; the tier-4 jump is a single year against a stack of tier-8 finishes.
- Recent game log shows 6.8 and 8.6 PPR in the back half of 2025; the floor is still soft when carry share dips.
What to watch: Whether the 2025 workload travels to Tampa Bay in 2026 or compresses behind Bucky Irving's lead-back share.
Full take and bio
Gainwell's 2025 line at STTM #16 tier 4 is the steepest one-year jump on the entire RB board outside Warren and Javonte: from STTM #70 tier 8 in PHI to top-20 in his first PIT year. The 2025 game log clusters between 6 and 24 PPR with three sub-10 weeks, so the volatility is real, but so is the volume bump that came with the team change.
Gainwell was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi, played high school football as a quarterback before moving to running back at Memphis, and won the 2019 Shaun Alexander Award as the National Freshman of the Year. Philadelphia took him 150th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. He won a Super Bowl ring with the Eagles in LIX, signed with Pittsburgh for 2025, and earned his current spot at the top of the second tier.
Comps
Coming out: Christian McCaffrey, Jamaal Charles, Marshawn Lynch.
Of his 20 closest coming out: 6 stars, 4 starters, 10 backups, 0 didn't stick.
Kenneth Gainwell Props This WeekTB at CHI Sun Nov 8
| Market | Line | Over | Under |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rushing yards | 22.5 | -110 Bovada | -120 Bovada |
| Receptions | 1.5 | -180 Bovada | +135 Bovada |
| Receiving yards | 10.5 | -115 Bovada | -115 Bovada |
Best price across 9 books as of Thu Nov 5. Lines move; check the book before you bet. This week's board · Line Room
Play Kenneth's numbers on Underdog · partner link
Kenneth Gainwell Injury StatusNot listed
Kenneth Gainwell is not on the injury report as of Nov 6. Source: the official NFL injury report, refreshed daily.
This season
Every game on the Game Log, every season on Career. Advanced numbers are EPA and Next Gen Stats.
Contract2026 cap
Every year of the deal, the dead money and what a cut or trade saves on the Contract tab.
Draft & College
Round 5, pick 150 to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2021, out of Memphis (American Athletic). He went about where consensus had him.
In college, 2019, 14 games: 1,496 rush yds, 16 TD, 6.5 yds/carry, 51 rec. (partial record)
Recruited
Class of 2018 · Athlete · High school: Yazoo County, Yazoo City, MS
His full list of offers is not on our record yet; offers for the 2018 class are still being added.