JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- With training camp winding down and the season opening in just over two weeks, there's no clear pecking order when it comes to who's going to be the Jacksonville Jaguars' top back in 2026.
It'll be a shared workload, which means there could be a different leading rusher each week. Travis Etienne Jr. had 70% of the team's running back carries in 2025 before leaving for the New Orleans Saints in free agency. For 2026, coach Liam Coen said the breakdown between free agent signing Chris Rodriguez Jr. and second-year Bhayshul Tuten should be more equitable.
"We're going to have to be a little bit more by committee," Coen said. "Those guys are going to play their part but not come in to try to be anybody else but themselves."
The Jaguars signed Rodriguez, who rushed for 920 yards and 10 touchdowns in three seasons with the Washington Commanders, to a two-year, $10 million contract in the spring. Tuten ran for 307 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie last season. The key is that they have different running styles, which will impact how the Jaguars use them. Rodriguez (5-foot-11, 224 pounds) is a power back, and Tuten (5-9, 209 pounds) is speedy.
Coen has emphasized the importance of rushing yards over expectation, which are yards the running back gained over what the play was designed to gain. The Jaguars weren't very good at that in 2025 -- they had 37 all season, which ranked 25th in the league, per NFL Next Gen Stats. However, Rodriguez was better at it. He had 67 rushing yards over expectation in 13 games (seven starts), which ranked 23rd among all RBs.
Early in training camp Coen said the impact that Rodriguez, who suffered a left foot injury early in the offseason, will have on the run game won't be evident until the season begins because the Jaguars don't practice with tackling. But it has been clear in 11-on-11 work that Rodriguez will get most of his work between the tackles.
"I feel like I'm still getting back into that football shape, which it'll come ... with practice and we're just going to keep working," Rodriguez said. "... [Getting back into 11-on-11 work is] very helpful for me in my game, but at the end of the day, it's different from tackling. But it always feels good to get back in and feel that contact."
The Jaguars will use Tuten inside, too, but they also want to get him into space so he can use his speed (he ran a 4.32 in the 40-yard dash at the 2025 combine). Coen said Tuten needs to have more trust in what he's seeing and play faster -- essentially the same thing he told quarterback Trevor Lawrence last season, which sparked a second-half surge.
"We've just got to continue to work on his tracks, reading his keys, and just go play," Coen said. "Not overthinking where the ball maybe should go or could go, and just stick your foot in the ground and get north because when he does that, and he gets his shoulders square and downhill, it can be impressive.
"I've been pleased with him, but we've got to take another step."
Despite the big-play ability, the longest play Tuten had as a rookie was a 20-yard run against Buffalo Bills in the AFC wild-card loss, and he admitted he needs to deliver more big plays this season.
"Just keep building on who I am," he said. "It's the biggest thing for me."
ESPN senior fantasy writer Mike Clay projects Tuten will lead the team with 994 yards on 227 carries in 2026, and Rodriguez will have 100 carries for 432 yards. He also ranked the Jaguars as the shakiest running back group in the NFL.
Regardless of how the workload is split -- and what impact LeQuint Allen Jr. (2025 seventh-rounder) might have as a third-down back -- Coen wants the run game to be more consistent than it was last season. After averaging 128.1 yards per game in Weeks 1-12, the Jaguars averaged 91.2 yards per game in Weeks 13-18. Without a clear No. 1 running back, it's hard to know what to expect from this group in 2026.
"If we ended last season first in rushing in the NFL, we would've showed up here just trying to figure out how to get better," center Robert Hainsey said. "So there's always going to be those different things, the techniques, the scheme. How can we just take that next step as a group, as an offense? And that's just what we're working towards no matter what."
