Bhayshul Tuten isn't hiding the ball on his expectations for year 2. According to Tony Pauline, the Jaguars back has set personal goals of 1,500 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns this season, numbers that would put him firmly in the Offensive Player of the Year conversation if he hits them. That's a massive jump for a guy who ran for 307 yards and 5 scores on just 83 carries as a rookie fourth-rounder out of Virginia Tech last year.
Big talk is easy in August. The problem is Jacksonville didn't just hand Tuten the keys to the backfield this offseason — they spent draft capital and free-agent money building out a room that's now legitimately crowded. Chris Rodriguez, brought in to complement Tuten, missed spring work after foot surgery but has been fully cleared for training camp. Early camp reports actually have Tuten taking the lead in reps with Rodriguez still being eased back in, but that's more about health management than a settled pecking order.
That's exactly the dynamic analyst Hayden Winks flagged: with Rodriguez healthy, Jacksonville looks headed for a genuinely even touch split rather than a clear-cut lead back. Throw Travis Etienne into the mix on passing downs and third-and-long situations, and Tuten's path to 1,500 yards starts looking like it needs a lot to break his way — an injury, a slump from a competitor, or a coaching staff that decides to just ride the hot hand.
With Chris Rodriguez healthy early in training camp, I expect the Jaguars to open the season in a fairly even touch split with Tuten and CRod (and Allen on passing downs). Let the best man win during the season.
Winks' "let the best man win" framing is the realistic read here. Jacksonville doesn't have an obvious bell-cow among Tuten, Rodriguez, and LeQuint Allen, and head coach Liam Coen's staff has shown early camp willingness to spread reps around rather than crown someone in July. For fantasy purposes, that's the classic timeshare red flag — talented backs whose per-game upside gets capped by a shared workload.
Worth remembering: Tuten's calling card was never volume, it was burst. He ran a blazing 4.32 40 at the combine, and reports out of camp already peg him as a better between-the-tackles runner than his college tape suggested, without the ball-security issues that dogged him at Virginia Tech. If he's actually improved as an inside runner, that's the strongest case for Jacksonville leaning his way even with Rodriguez healthy. But 1,500 yards on a shared workload is a tall order, and training camp is about to answer whether that goal is a real target or just a rookie-year hangover of confidence.