Who Should I Start? Bhayshul Tuten or Jacory Croskey-Merritt

Wednesday, July 1, 5:49 AM

As a rookie in 2025, Jacksonville Jaguars running back Bhayshul Tuten ran for only 307 yards at a pedestrian clip of 3.7 yards per carry, but heading into his second season, he is poised for an expanded role and a potential breakout. With Travis Etienne Jr. departing in free agency, the team has said goodbye to its leading rusher from a year ago and will look to replace his 296 touches with a committee of Tuten and Chris Rodriguez Jr., with a potential smattering of LeQuint Allen Jr. on passing downs. While Rodriguez has experience in Liam Coen's system from their time together at Kentucky, his absence from minicamp allowed Tuten to stand out in the non-padded practices and left several Jaguars beat writers calling for big things in 2026. Of course, when the pads do come on for training camp at the end of the month, Rodriguez's physicality could have some of those same reporters singing his praises, as he was one of the league's most efficient backs after contact in his final season with the Commanders. While it may still be too early to know how the backfield will ultimately be split, Jacksonville's offense projects to take another step forward in its second season under Coen, and between Tuten's explosiveness and Rodriguez's goal line prowess, both backs have traits that could keep their ADPs on the rise throughout draft season. At RotoBaller's RB25, Tuten can still regularly be found in an area of 2026 drafts where his upside gives him league-winning potential.