The Jacksonville Jaguars raised questions about their running game when they let Travis Etienne walk in free agency. While they had Bhayshul Tuten in the mix, they seemingly had no clear-cut answer at the position after the arrival of Chris Rodriguez.

The expectation was that Tuten and Rodriguez would share the backfield workload, and the Jags would ultimately go with the hot hand. However, that hasn’t been the case three weeks into the season.

Tuten got off to a strong start to the season but truly cemented his place as the No. 1 option in the Jacksonville backfield when he pierced through the New England Patriots’ top-ranked defense against the run in Week 3. The former Virginia Hokie had 15 carries for 73 yards and scored a touchdown despite the fact that he played a season-low 28 offensive snaps. On top of that, he had two receptions for 17 yards, confirming that the Jags made the right call when they let Etienne walk.

The Jaguars keep expanding Bhayshul Tutens’ role in the win vs. the Patriots

Liam Coen met with reporters following the win over New England and stated that he was pleased with Bhayshul Tuten, noting that

“Yeah. I think it was kind of building; it’s been building a little bit,” Coen told the local media (6:50 mark). “We wanted to continue to get him more ops, and it’s always that balance of trying to keep the guys fresh and understand that it’s a long year and you want to keep these guys fresh and feeling good, but also so much about playing the running back position is about attrition.”

Coen continued, “It’s about getting in the flow of the game and being able to understand how they’re playing some of the schemes and how our O-line’s blocking some of the schemes. So I was very pleased with his run after contact this week again. I thought he had some runs, especially I think it was like the first run of a quasi four-minute. We had a toss on their sideline where it got strung out, and he stuck his foot in the ground to not run out of bounds to make somebody miss and to get vertical.”

It’s worth noting that Tuten wasn’t the only Jaguars running back who thrived in Week 3. Chris Rodriguez also had success against New England, registering 37 yards with a touchdown on eight carries (4.3 yards per rush).

Still, Tuten remains the unquestioned RB1.

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The Jaguars were right for letting Travis Etienne leave and trusting Bhayshul Tuten

One of the biggest concerns about Bhayshul Tuten becoming RB1 was that he averaged an underwhelming 3.7 yards per carry as a rookie. However, that was due to the fact that the Jaguars used him in short-yardage situations more than Travis Etienne.

With Etienne out of the picture, though, Tuten has been able to showcase his breakaway speed. Now, you could make the case that Etienne is also doing just fine, but he hasn’t been nearly as productive since signing with the New England Patriots.

Most rushes hitting 15+ miles per hour this season (Next-Gen Stats):

1. Bhayshul Tuten (18)
2. Jahmyr Gibbs (13)
T3. Lamar Jackson, Kenneth Walker, Malik Willis, Caleb Williams, Bijan Robinson (11)

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) September 28, 2026

The former Clemson Tiger has played more snaps than Tuten (118 to 88) and has toted the rock 30 times for 128 running yards (Tuten has 204). Those aren’t bad numbers at all, but his production doesn’t reflect the four-year deal worth $52 million that he got from New Orleans.

Simply put, Bhayshul Tuten has become a pivotal piece on offense, and the Jaguars didn’t have to make a big investment to make it happen.

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