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2026 Fantasy Outlook

Chris Rodriguez Jr

RB · Jaguars

Jaguars

RB47 ADP

RB47

ADP (146 ovr)

125.0

Proj Half-PPR

171

Proj Carries

15 / 107

Proj Rec / Yds

Rodriguez spent two years behind Austin Ekeler before a Week 2 Achilles tear opened Washington's early-down job in 2025. He ran for 500 yards and 6 touchdowns on 112 carries, and the efficiency underneath was better than the volume suggested. His 3.46 yards after contact per carry ranked 2nd in the league, the mark of a 224-pound back who wins on contact balance in tight spaces instead of with breakaway speed.

The breakout turned him into a free-agent target. Jacksonville signed him in March to a two-year, $10M deal that reunited him with Liam Coen, his offensive coordinator at Kentucky in 2021. The room opened up when Travis Etienne left for New Orleans, but it did not empty out. Bhayshul Tuten carried OTA momentum into the summer while Rodriguez skipped the entire offseason program, and Coen has praised Tuten's grasp of the scheme. The lead job is unsettled going into camp.

Backfield

Bhayshul Tuten

Second-year back with the OTA momentum; 83 carries, 307 yards, 5 TDs as a 2025 rookie.

RIVAL

Tuten is the direct threat to Rodriguez's touch count on early downs and at the goal line. He took first-team reps through OTAs and minicamp, and Coen said he likes the way Tuten is running compared to a year ago and that he is more in-tune with the scheme. His 4.9-yard 2025 average per carry and perimeter speed give him a different running style than Rodriguez's interior power.

LeQuint Allen Jr.

Passing-down back; 10 catches on 11 targets in 2025, penciled in for obvious pass situations.

3RD-DOWN

Allen owns the role Rodriguez cannot fill. His pass blocking and receiving work put him on the field on obvious passing downs, which actually protects Rodriguez's early-down lane rather than threatening it. His presence also caps Rodriguez's snap share and PPR floor by taking the third-down snaps outright.

DeeJay Dallas

Veteran depth and special-teams back; 3 carries, 10 offensive snaps in 2025.

DEPTH

Dallas is a special-teams contributor and emergency depth rather than a competitor for early-down or goal-line work. He does not project to cut into Rodriguez's touch count in a healthy backfield.

J'Mari Taylor

Undrafted rookie out of North Carolina Central; camp-roster depth with no NFL snaps.

ROOKIE

Taylor is a developmental rookie fighting for a roster spot. He is not a factor in the lead-back battle unless injuries reshape the room, but he adds a body to a group Coen was still evaluating through the summer.

Run Blocking

Jacksonville's run game finished 4th in the NFL in rushing touchdowns in 2025, so the blocking in front of this backfield produced at the goal line even before the personnel changed. GM James Gladstone framed the signing as adding capacity in the run game and called Rodriguez very physical at the point of attack, the profile of a back the front can lean on in short yardage. The zone-versus-gap tilt Coen installs will shape the fit, since a downhill gap-and-power diet suits Rodriguez better than a wide-zone one.

Playcall

Coen's offenses lean on the run, and he coached Rodriguez directly at Kentucky in 2021, so the scheme and the coordinator already know the runner. Washington deployed him as an early-down and short-yardage hammer in 2025, handing him goal-line carries without a lead blocker on the strength of his short-area tackle-breaking. Whether Coen gives him that same interior role or splits it with Tuten sets his carry count.

Pass Game

The receiving work is not his. He has 6 catches in three NFL seasons, and Jacksonville uses LeQuint Allen Jr. on obvious passing downs, which keeps Rodriguez off the field in those spots. His fantasy value comes almost entirely through carries and goal-line work; the passing game barely touches him.

Scheme Fit

Top-6 efficiency once handed volume

Breaks the first tackle in tight space

Coaching reunion frames a downhill power role

Inherits a top-5 rushing-TD offense

No passing-down snaps

Losing the offseason reps battle

Key Variables

Does Rodriguez or Tuten win the early-down and goal-line job? A clear lead role points at the RB13-in-PPG outcome Etienne posted from this backfield, while an even split caps both at flex.
Who inherits Etienne's 62 vacated red-zone touches? Rodriguez's 6 TDs and short-yardage frame make him the logical goal-line hammer, and that touchdown equity alone would support flex value.
Does the offseason absence cost him the job? Tuten took first-team reps through OTAs and minicamp while Rodriguez stayed away entirely.
Does Coen's run scheme skew gap and power or wide zone? A downhill diet fits his contact style, while a zone-heavy plan asks for burst he has never shown.

Fantasy Range

Bull

RB3

Wins the early-down and goal-line job outright and turns Etienne's vacated red-zone volume into weekly RB2 spike weeks.

Base

RB4

Splits early downs with Tuten and leans on goal-line scoring for touchdown-driven flex weeks.

Bear

RB5

Loses the timeshare, sits behind Tuten, and lives as a touchdown-dependent handcuff off the field on passing downs.

Health

No meaningful injury history across three NFL seasons; his missed time has been depth-chart driven rather than medical, and he enters 2026 with a clean durability profile. The one availability flag is participation: he skipped Jacksonville's entire offseason program, which cost the staff evaluation reps and handed early-down work to Tuten at the wrong moment in a position battle.

Let his August workload read set the price: first-team goal-line reps in the preseason make him a target at his RB47 ADP, but if Tuten is still taking those looks, hold off and grab him only as a late handcuff.

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