Not long after the NFL Draft, a report surfaced that the Jacksonville Jaguars weren't particularly high on Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby, opening the door for rookie Bhayshul Tuten to be the starter next season. However, head coach Liam Coen's latest comments indicate that the first-year running back may have a steeper hill to climb than originally thought.
Coen met with the local media after Day 7 of Organized Team Activities and said that he's pleased with Etienne's performance so far, adding that the idea the Jags want to move on from him is inaccurate.
For his part, Etienne says that he's not paying much attention to the noise and is instead putting in the work to be the best player he can possibly be. This is great news for the Jaguars, as they have enviable depth at running back. On the other hand, this means Tuten may not be in the front seat to start next season after all.
Tuten posted the fastest 40-yard dash, the best 10-yard split the highest vertical jump among running backs at the NFL Scouting Combine. However, he showed the tendency to bounce outside instead of hitting the running lanes. However, his biggest issue is, without a doubt, his inability to hold onto the football.
Dating back to 2023, Tuten has lost nine fumbles. Granted, five of those came under less than ideal weather conditions, but it is nonetheless something he must fix. Heck, he showed at OTAs that it's still an area of concern when he fumbled the football on the first rep he got. That said, he's talent is too much to overlook.
The Jaguars will be thrilled to see Bhayshul Tuten, Tank Bigsby, and Travis Etienne compete
Based on Liam Coen's comments, Travis Etienne isn't anywhere right now. Then again, things could change at any time, especially if a team in need of help at running back makes an appealing offer. For the time being, though, he remains on the team's plans, so Bhayshul Tuten won't only have to compete with Tank Bigsby for the starting job.
Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report, for one, believes running back will be the Jags' most interesting position battle this offseason, pointing out that taking pressure off Trevor Lawrence's shoulders will be of the utmost importance next season.
"Supporting Lawrence also means improving on a run game that had a 38.8 percent success rate. It makes the running back competition an important one to watch," Ballentine wrote, "Tank Bigsby was their most effective back last season, but Travis Etienne Jr. was still the lead back for much of the season. They also drafted fourth-rounder Bhayshul Tuten."
In the same breath, Ballentine argues that Tuten shouldn't be counted out, dubbing him the team's top summer breakout candidate.
Tuten certainly has the skills to be the primary option on the Jaguars' backfield, but so do Etienne and Bigsby. Heck, at this point, it's hard to tell who would come out on top. The good news is that there's still plenty of time to sort things out, and regardless of who wins the competition, the Jaguars will end up with a pretty good RB1.
Here are other Jaguars stories you may also like: