Assessing the Jaguars' Group of Running Backs

The Jacksonville Jaguars are under new leadership, as Liam Coen has taken over the reins and looks to turn things around. Although the Jaguars have a new head coach and several other new pieces, they have some of the same concerns remaining from last season.

After starting last season with one of the top running back duos in the league, the Jaguars' ground game took a hit when veteran running back Travis Etienne suffered an injury last season, and the Jaguars traded veteran offensive lineman Cam Robinson.

Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Focus ranked every team's group of running backs headed into the upcoming season. He ranked the Jaguars' group of running backs as the 25th-best in the National Football League.

"Travis Etienne Jr. took a major step back last season, recording a career-low 62.8 PFF rushing grade and forcing only 17 missed tackles on the ground. He ceded work to Tank Bigsby, who earned a 74.6 PFF rushing grade but slowed down as the season progressed. Those two will need to be better behind a hopefully improved offensive line to add balance to Jacksonville’s offense," Wasserman said.

"Rookie speedster Bhayshul Tuten could also help after racking up 207 missed tackles forced in his final three college seasons.

Following the completion of mandatory minicamp, Coen spoke about how Tuten's development is coming along.

“I think it’s really hard for any—a lot of the running backs, man, it’s a huge jump. From protection systems in college to the pros, that’s usually where you see some of the tempo slow down for them – 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," Coen said.

"We’re trying to teach the ‘why,’ so sometimes that can slow a back down in this phase. Especially when it’s a tag and 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. I think he’s done a solid job. I know he needs a lot more work, which all those guys do.”

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