Bhayshul Tuten’s rise with the Jacksonville Jaguars has been fast enough to make the depth chart look like it was drawn in pencil. He entered his rookie year third at running back, climbed to No. 2 after Tank Bigsby was traded following Week 1, and then moved into the likely top spot when Travis Etienne signed with the New Orleans Saints during the offseason.
The Jaguars took Tuten in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft with the 104th pick. He was one of nine selections Jacksonville made that year, a class that also included second overall pick Travis Hunter. Tuten was also one of two running backs the Jaguars drafted in 2025, joining seventh-rounder LeQuint Allen, who is penciled in as the third-strong back heading into the 2026 season.
At 23, Tuten is still very much at the beginning of his NFL story. He was born on Feb.
14, 2003. On that Valentine’s Day, the No. 1 song in America was "All I Have" by Jennifer Lopez, featuring LL Cool J.
The No. 1 album on the US Billboard 200 was "Home" by the Dixie Chicks. The top movie was “Daredevil,” starring Ben Affleck, and the No.
1 TV show was the CBS crime drama, “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”
Long before he reached Jacksonville, Tuten was piling up points at every stop. At Paulsboro High School in New Jersey, he was named the Jersey Times offensive player of the year in 2020 and earned a spot in the Phil Simms North/South All-Star Game.
He finished his high school career with 3,768 rushing yards and 77 touchdowns on 429 carries. He also added 35 catches for 437 yards and seven touchdowns, plus three kick return scores and one punt return touchdown.
That scoring touch carried into college. Tuten began at North Carolina A&T, where he played in 2021 and 2022.
As a freshman, he ran 37 times for 215 yards and three touchdowns. As a sophomore, he broke out with 1,363 yards on 208 carries and 13 touchdowns.
After that season, he transferred to Virginia Tech and kept producing. In 2023, he started all 13 games and rushed 173 times for 863 yards and 10 touchdowns.
As a senior, he totaled 183 carries for 1,159 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Tuten’s path to the top of the Jaguars’ running back group is still crowded, though. Chris Rodriguez Jr., an offseason signee, is expected to handle a heavy workload, too.
Allen is sitting at No. 3 after seeing limited but regular action last season, mostly as a kick returner, while appearing in all 17 games. Veterans Ameer Abdullah and Deejay Dallas are also on the depth chart, along with 2026 draftee J’Mari Taylor.
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