The competition in the Washington Commanders' running back room has been the talk of training camp. As the preseason comes to a close on Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens and fans speculate who will become the face of an already strong running game, Chris Rodriguez Jr. is tuning out the noise and focusing on himself.
"I'm just working harder and believing in myself," Rodriguez said after Wednesday's practice. "Last year was tough, but I'll keep working and keep grinding and hopefully things fall in my favor."
The 2023 sixth-round pick began last season on the practice squad before being elevated to the active roster due to injury concerns for running backs Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler. Rodriguez's role in the offense was limited outside of filling in for Robinson and Ekeler. He is looking for more in his third season.
Rodriguez's prioritized building up his legs this offseason with aspirations to make Washington's 53-man roster.
"One of my main things I was working on was my speed," Rodriguez said. "I think last year I hit 20 miles per hour maybe three times throughout the whole year, and I hit that more times this year in training camp than I did almost all of last year."
Rodriguez trained with Lily Abdelmalek, Owner and Head Trainer of Dynamics of Speed + Agility (DSA) Sports Performance, at her facility in Rodriguez's home state of Georgia.
"She had me doing mat drills," Rodriguez said of his time training with Abdelmalek. "A couple of guys here actually were with her as well. But she's tough and I could see it translate onto the field as soon as I got out here."