Even though Bhayshul Tuten posted an impressive statline at the college level, his struggles to hold onto the football were a reason for concern. The good news is that it doesn't look like that's been an issue in the offseason programs. Having said that, the Jacksonville Jaguars will need him to work on one crucial area if he wants to be RB1 in 2025.
Although Tuten has mostly done a good job of holding onto the football, he must improve in pass protection if he wants to move up the depth chart. In fact, head coach Liam Coen just cited it as an area where he could use more work.
"Yeah, I think it's really hard for a lot of the running backs, it's a huge jump from protection systems in college to the pros," Coen told the local media on Day 2 of mandatory camp when asked how Tuten is doing. "And that's usually where you see some of the tempo slow down for them, like playing slower thinking more is when pass pro starts to kind of bog the mind and then, okay, you've got, let's call it, five different tracks of footwork from a running back that you need to learn, and we're trying to teach the why."
Coen continued, "So sometimes that can slow it back down in this phase, you know, especially when it's tag and it's awkward. People are in awkward positions when you're trying to stick your foot in the ground and get vertical to run through them. You can't. It's awkward. So I think he's done a solid job. I know he needs a lot more work, which all those guys do."
Tuten's biggest read flag at Virginia Tech was his high number of fumbles, having lost nine the past two years. Although he had one during rookie minicamp, it didn't appear to be an issue at either Organized Team Activities or mandatory minicamp, so you can make the case that he's taking steps in the right direction.
Bhayshul Tuten has his work cut out, but the Jaguars should be pleased with his progress
After the NFL Draft, a report surfaced that the Jacksonville Jaguars weren't sold on either Tank Bigsby or Travis Etienne. This, in turn, made you think that Bhayshul Tuten had a legitimate chance to be at the top of the depth chart come Week 1. However, it seems like he has his work cut out based on Liam Coen's latest remarks.
Jamal St. Cyr of News4Jax has been posting live tweets of Jaguars practice. It looks like Tuten has mostly taken second-team reps. Then again, this is understandable when you take into account that both Bigsby and Etienne have more experience than him. Furthermore, it's only mandatory camp, and the depth chart will truly begin to take shape once they put the pads on in training camp.
On the other hand, Tuten hasn't necessarily been underwhelming during minicamp. In fact, John Shipley of Sports Illustrated reports that he broke off a big play on Day 3 and made several plays after the catch.
The bottom line is that the talent is there, but Bhayshul Tuten will need to keep working on his craft if he wants to either seize the RB1 job or earn a significant role in the Jaguars' backfield early in the 2025 season.
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