As training camp gets closer, the Jaguars’ running back room looks pretty close to settled - at least on paper.
Bhayshul Tuten, Chris Rodriguez and LeQuint Allen all sit in the roster-lock tier, and that’s not just filling space. Tuten is the favorite to open as RB1, Rodriguez is expected to get steady work, and Allen has already carved out a real role by handling pass protection well on passing downs. He’s also helped on special teams, which only strengthens his case.
That trio also points to what should be a fairly active rotation this season. The bigger question isn’t who’s in the mix - it’s how many backs Jacksonville actually keeps.
Most teams carry three running backs, and if the Jaguars follow that path, this position group is basically decided. But there is one wrinkle: last season, Jacksonville kept four running backs for much of the year. That leaves at least some possibility the team could do it again if one of Dallas, Abdullah or Taylor makes a strong enough push this summer to convince GM James Gladstone to keep an extra body.
For now, though, the best guess is still three.
Until Dallas, Abdullah or Taylor shows something that changes the picture, the projection here is Tuten, Rodriguez and Allen. Keeping a fourth back would mean trimming somewhere else on the roster, and that comes with a cost.
Even then, as last season showed, four running backs doesn’t automatically mean four game-day contributors. That extra spot is often tied up with an inactive on Sundays.
So the cleanest path is also the most likely one: three running backs on the 53-man roster.
In Other News...
Travon Walker Faces His Biggest Jaguars Season Yet
Travon Walkers next season already carries a different kind of weight in Jacksonville. The former No. 1 overall pick has backed up the draft pedigree with production, posting double-digit sacks in each of the last two years before landing a four-year extension in April, and now he heads into 2026 with something he has not always had in the past: a full offseason to build on what he has already shown.
There is also a sense around the Jaguars that the arrow is still pointing up. Walker is back in the same defensive framework, and reports out of the offseason program have suggested he is looking even sharper, which only raises the stakes for a player the organization has already invested heavily in. For Jacksonville, the question is no longer whether Walker can be a centerpiece, but how much more disruptive he can become when the season starts for real. [Read more 🡒]
Did Commanders Give Up Too Soon On A Back Who Produced
Chris Rodriguez Jr. spent much of his time in Washington on the roster bubble, getting waived and brought back more than once before finally putting together the kind of season that hinted at what he could be. By the end of 2025, the former Commanders back had set career highs in rushing yards and touchdowns, a late burst that made the decision not to tender him as a restricted free agent look a little more questionable in hindsight.
Now Rodriguez is heading to Jacksonville with a fresh opportunity and a familiar face in Liam Coen, who coached him at Kentucky and knows exactly what he can do in the right system. The Jaguars are giving him a chance to work his way back from a foot injury and compete for the lead job in camp and preseason, which is a pretty different stage than the one he left behind in Washington. [Read more 🡒]