Jaguars Give Chris Rodriguez Surprising Money

The Setup

This is an interesting connection for two key reasons:

1. That's a surprising amount of money (to me, at least) for a fourth-year RB who totaled just 198 carries through his first three seasons. It's especially surprising because his original team -- Washington -- chose not to tender Rodriguez as a restricted free agent.
2. Rodriguez had his most productive college season in the one year that his Kentucky stint coincided with Liam Coen.

Coen served as Wildcats OC in 2021 and helped the fourth-year back dominate work. Rodriguez set career highs in:

• carries (225)
• rushing yards (1,379)
• rushing TDs (9)
• receptions (13)
• receiving yards (61)
• and total TDs (12)

(Coen OC'd Kentucky again in 2023, but Rodriguez was gone.)

Rodriguez also averaged 6.1 yards per carry that season, down from the 6.6 he averaged in a breakthrough 2020, but a terrific rate over a larger workload (225 carries vs. 119).

I'm generally wary of a team betting on a player to this degree after his previous team elected not to tender him at all. But Coen probably knows what he's getting.

2026 Fantasy Football Impact

Rodriguez lands in a backfield that shed Travis Etienne Jr. this offseason. He'll join second-year RBs Bhayshul Tuten (a fourth-round pick) and LeQuint Allen (seventh round).

Tuten ran second to Etienne in Coen's first year at the helm, averaging 5.5 carries per outing to Etienne's 15.3. Tuten also trailed well behind Allen in pass snaps and routes for the year:

At his best, Rodriguez isn't much of a receiver. So that area should find a competition between Tuten and Allen for primary duties this summer (assuming no further additions).

The new guy's contract suggests a decent work split on the ground, though, with Rodriguez even potentially leading in carries.

Rodriguez's run-only profile makes him fairly unattractive outside of best-ball formats.

Other Winners & Losers

Tuten's a mild loser here. But there's potential for that to change.

The money and Coen history point to Rodriguez getting opportunity in 2026. But Tuten looks like the most talented guy in this backfield. If he can simply win the lead job this summer, then there's room for him to become a nice value in fantasy football drafts.

The situation looks likely to present a split or committee, though. That would challenge everyone's usability.