March 13, 2026, 11:48 a.m. ET
Free agency has been relatively quiet for the Jacksonville Jaguars, with only one new addition so far: running back Chris Rodriguez.
While he isn’t a big name (yet), he is a solid power back known for his physicality and ability to break tackles.
In a recent press conference, GM James Gladstone spoke about the decision to sign Rodriguez and what he brings to the team.
“Chris Rodriguez is in fact somebody that, if you watch the tape, you understand very quickly exactly who he is as a football player, the superpowers that he taps into consistently, and if you draw back to his time at Kentucky, it’s remained a constant,” Gladstone said. “He’s very physical at the point of attack, he has a really good pace in his approach to the line of scrimmage and finding the lanes, obviously an intimate understanding of the system and how Liam [Coen] likes to call things.”
Coen worked with Rodriguez at the University of Kentucky, with Coen as the offensive coordinator in 2022, when Rodriguez had a breakout season. That year, Rodriguez had 225 carries for 1,379 yards and nine touchdowns.
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After graduating, Coen said he “is really going to miss being able to hand the ball off and know you would get 4 yards. A lot of times, that wasn’t scheme. That was Chris.”
That past relationship clearly factored into Gladstone’s decision to sign Rodriguez, and while there has been some criticism due to his shortcomings as a pass-catcher, there is good reason to be optimistic. Fans need look only to Trevor Lawrence.
When Lawrence was drafted, he was coming off a reputation in college as a generational talent, and yet, it never quite materialized in the NFL. Under Doug Pederson, he initially played well, but then strongly regressed. (To be fair to Lawrence, so did the rest of the team.) Yet when Coen took over, Lawrence played the best football of his career, showing that he is capable of being an elite quarterback.
With that in mind, there is good reason to assume the same could happen for Rodriguez. Coen could very well bring out the best in him, the way he did for Lawrence, especially given the culture Coen has built in Jacksonville. Under his leadership, the Jaguars have become a gritty, physical team, which makes Rodriguez a perfect fit.