Jaguars RB Bhayshul Tuten got off to a strong start in training camp while RB Chris Rodriguez was limited coming off a foot injury. But Rodriguez was a full-go for Monday's padded practice and impressed, according to Sports Illustrated's John Shipley.
What They're Saying
Shipley: "The Jaguars are expecting Rodriguez to come in and deliver tough yards up the middle from the jump, and he seemed to do that on every single touch he had on Monday."
2026 Fantasy Football Impact: Backfield Still Up For Grabs
Rodriguez was always likely to look best in contact practices. While Tuten's game is built on speed, Rodriguez's is built on power. In fact, his 3.0 yards after contact per attempt over the last two seasons leads all 69 RBs with 100+ attempts over that span.
HC Liam Coen highlighted Rodriguez's run-to-run efficiency about a week ago on The Brent & Austen Show:
"I’ve worked with Chris. I know what he’s about and what he brings to the table, and that’s efficiency," Coen said. "It’s very difficult to create explosives in the run game in the NFL. ... There aren’t that many 40-yard runs in the NFL on a weekly basis. So, what we’re hunting up is efficiency: 4, 6, 8, 10, 4, 6, 8, 10 [yards]."
Tuten is exciting, but Rodriguez is a serious threat to siphon enough early-down and short-yardage work to prevent a true breakout.
We'll continue to keep a close eye on this backfield leading up to Week 1.
