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2026 Fantasy Outlook

Chris Rodriguez Jr.

RB · Jaguars

Jaguars

RB51 ADP

RB51

ADP (152 ovr)

125.0

Proj Half-PPR

171

Proj Carries

15 / 107

Proj Rec / Yds

Two years of waiting ended the moment Austin Ekeler tore his Achilles in Week 2. Rodriguez took over Washington's backfield late and ran for 500 yards and 6 TDs on 112 carries, with 381 of those yards and 5 of the scores packed into the final seven games. The efficiency under the volume is what got him paid: 6th among qualifying backs in rush EPA per carry, 8th in success rate, 2nd in the NFL in yards after contact per carry, and a broken tackle once every 8.6 totes. He is a 5'11", 224-lb downhill grinder who creates in tight spaces and at the goal line, with one glaring hole — 6 career NFL catches and 20 across four college seasons.

Jacksonville signed him as its first free agent of 2026 (2 years, $10M, $6.2M guaranteed) and reunited him with Liam Coen, his Kentucky offensive coordinator in 2021. Travis Etienne walked to New Orleans and took 62 red-zone touches with him, leaving an early-down and goal-line role open. The catch is that second-year back Bhayshul Tuten wants the same job and was the one practicing for it — Coen praised Tuten's offseason while Rodriguez skipped every open OTA. LeQuint Allen handles passing downs, so Rodriguez and Tuten are splitting the work he can actually do.

Backfield

Bhayshul Tuten

Second-year back, leading the lead-job battle into camp

RIVAL
The primary threat to Rodriguez's touch count. Coen said he 'likes the way [Tuten] is running compared to this time a year ago' and that Tuten is 'more in-tune with the scheme' as a second-year player, and Tuten was gaining momentum through OTAs while Rodriguez was absent. He competes for the same early-down and goal-line work, which is the only work Rodriguez's two-down profile lets him claim.

LeQuint Allen Jr.

Second-year back, passing-down role

3RD-DOWN
Penciled in for obvious passing situations where his pass blocking shines. His role actually protects Rodriguez's early-down lane rather than threatening it — he takes the snaps Rodriguez can't play anyway, given Rodriguez's 6 career catches.

Travis Etienne Jr.

Departed to New Orleans — vacated the lead role

DEPARTED
The Jaguars' 2025 rushing leader and the reason the job is open. He left behind 62 red-zone touches (5th most in the NFL) and an RB13-in-PPG backfield outcome on an offense that ranked 4th in rushing TDs — the opportunity Rodriguez and Tuten are now splitting.

Scheme Fit

6th in rush EPA/carry among qualifying RBs2025: +0.03 rush EPA per carry per Next Gen Stats, 6th among qualifiers, with a 45.5% success rate (8th).
2nd in the NFL in yards after contact/carry3.46 YAC per carry in 2025; forced a broken tackle once every 8.6 carries, 4th-best rate in the league.
Coen reunion fits the downhill power roleCoen was his OC at Kentucky in 2021; GM James Gladstone signed him to 'level up our capacity in the run game' and called him 'very physical at the point of attack.'
Inherits Etienne's goal-line volumeEtienne vacated 62 red-zone touches (5th most in NFL) on a Jaguars offense that ranked 4th in rushing TDs in 2025.
Two-down profile — no passing-game role6 career NFL receptions, 20 across four college seasons; comes off the field on obvious passing downs behind LeQuint Allen.
Tuten holds the lead-job momentumCoen praised Tuten's scheme fit and OTA running this offseason while Rodriguez missed every open OTA practice, ceding reps in the battle.

Key Variables

  • Does he or Tuten win the lead-back job? A clear lead role gives Rodriguez a path toward Etienne's RB13 PPG outcome; a true timeshare caps both at RB3/flex.
  • Who gets the goal-line work? Etienne's 62 vacated red-zone touches plus Rodriguez's short-yardage profile make him the logical goal-line hammer — that TD equity alone could float flex value in a committee.
  • Does the offseason absence cost him in camp? He skipped every open OTA while Tuten gained momentum; the position battle may already be tilting before pads come on.
  • Can he ever play three downs? With 6 career catches he's locked into two-down work, which hard-caps his snap share and his floor in negative game scripts.

Fantasy Range

Bull

RB3 (weekly RB2 spikes)

Wins the lead job, claims the goal line, and the top-10 efficiency carries over behind Coen's run game.

Base

RB4 / flex

Near-even timeshare with Tuten; touchdown-dependent value with occasional spike weeks at the goal line.

Bear

RB5 / handcuff

Tuten wins the job outright; Rodriguez is a two-down complement off the field in passing scripts.

Health

No significant injury history through three NFL seasons — his missed time has been depth-chart driven, not medical. The only current flag is availability of a different kind: he was absent from the entire Jaguars offseason program, OTAs and minicamp, which left the staff unable to fully evaluate the backfield and handed Tuten reps at the wrong time in a position battle.

At RB51 he's a cheap dart throw, but wait for the August beat reports on the goal-line split before committing — if he reclaims the short-yardage and red-zone work over Tuten, move him up to the RB35-40 range; if Tuten holds it, leave him on the waiver wire as a handcuff.

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