After speaking with executives, scouts, and coaches, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler emptied his post-NFL draft notebook, and included was a note that Jacksonville Jaguars’ fourth-round pick, running back Bhayshul Tuten, is a name to watch.
“Watch for fourth-round running back Bhayshul Tuten to make an impact,” Fowler wrote. “I’ve talked to multiple people in the league who believe the new regime is not so high on Travis Etienne Jr., and Tank Bigsby has a fumbling issue.”
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After rushing for almost 1,300 yards at 5.2 yards per attempt as a rookie, Etienne has averaged just 3.7 yards per rush over the last two seasons, and recorded just 558 rushing yards in 2024–although it’s not as if the offensive line play has been stellar either.
With Bigbsy, while he provided some big play ability last season, as Fowler notes, he has five fumbles over the last two years as well.
Tuten, meanwhile, is someone that the Jaguars very much coveted in the draft, and GM James Gladstone mentioned that after Tuten ran a 4.32-second 40 at the NFL combine, the Jaguars wouldn’t have guessed that he was going to be available on Day 3.
“We were jacked to be able to be in that position to prioritize him (Tuten) because at the end of the day we want to level up the competition across the entirety of the roster, and running back is a spot that we’re going to lean on,” Gladstone said via Jaguars on SI.
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With that 4.32 speed, Tuten was a big play threat at the college level. During this most recent season, he rushed for 1,150 yards and averaged a whopping 6.3 yards per rush.
Among all running backs, Tuten’s 6.3 yards per rush ranked 20th. He was also 15th in missed tackles forced, 15th in rushes of 10-plus yards, and 10th in rushes of 15 or more yards, according to PFF.
“If you look at [Bhayshul] Tuten with the ability to strike from a distance. He can get to the second or third level and score from anywhere on the field,” Liam Coen said.
With the addition of Tuten, as well as LeQuint Allen in the draft, the Jaguars’ running back room has become a bit crowded. Not that a team can’t roster four running backs on their 53-man, but that is generally outside of the norm across the NFL.
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While naturally, the focus on the outside is on Trevor Lawrence and the passing game, the running backs are going to play a key role in getting that element of the offense back on track.
Having a strong running game to lean on keeps an offense ahead of the sticks and out of predictable passing situations, which can then open up opportunities through the air. And looking at the Tampa Bay offense last season under Coen, the running backs were also key contributors in the passing game.
Then, from a schematic standpoint within Coen’s offense, the running and passing game concepts go hand-in-hand and build off of each other, which can help add some unpredictability to an offense and keep defenses off balance.
“As Liam can probably allude to, it’s so rarely just a one-person spot,” Gladstone said of the running back position. “It’s going to take a collective effort, just like the draft did. We look forward to the group as a whole in addition to LeQuint [Allen, Jr.] coming in and making this thing as rounded as it possibly can be.”
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So for all those reasons, it’s easy to see why the Jaguars invested in the running back position in the draft and the offensive line on numerous occasions throughout the offseason.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Jacksonville Jaguars RB Bhayshul Tuten a player to watch says insider