Biggest Winners, Losers Of Jaguars Signing Chris Rodriguez Jr.

The biggest winner has to be head coach Liam Coen. Coen is able to not only reunite with a former player who had plenty of success with him in the past, but he is also adding one of the NFL's most efficient rushers to a running game that started strong but fell off a cliff as the 2025 season went on. As talented and productive as Etienne was, there is genuinely a path for the Jaguars' running game to be better in 2026.

Coen said last year that he has learned his offense needs three running backs. They held the fort down last year with Etienne as the clear-cut No. 1 running back, but the unit and offense as a whole look to be evolving this offseason.

Trevor Lawrence

The second-half of the 2025 season saw Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence become an MVP candidate thanks to his red-hot streak of games to close the final months. When looking at the context of that streak, it is even more impressive because he largely did it without a running game to support him.

If Rodriguez can make the Jaguars' running game more reliable and efficient, especially in short-yardage situations, then the passing game and Lawrence can only benefit from his addition.

LeQuint Allen Jr.

How is LeQuint Allen a winner if the Jaguars added a running back with $6 million in guarantees? Becuase, by all appearances, it does not seem like Rodriguez will eat into Allen's snaps really at all. Allen is one of the NFL's best pass-protecting running backs so he will always have value on passing downs for the Jaguars, while Rodriguez has an extremely limited resume as a pass-catcher. Allen's role seems more than fine.

Losers

Bhayshul Tuten's fantasy prospects

The Jaguars made a fantastic move for their running back room by adding Rodriguez, whose style and strengths seem to mesh perfectly with Allen and Bhayshul Tuten. There is a real possibility the room is improved in 2026, too. But with that in mind, a backfield that is set to use three different players is better in reality than it is for other purposes.

One of those is fantasy football. For those who were hoping to see Tuten leave the offseason as the Jaguars' clear No. 1 running back, I am not so sure that is the case. I think Rodriguez will have a real role in the offense, though Tuten's role will be expanded from what it was a year ago. They will use all three running backs, which is great for the Jaguars on the field, but likely not so much for those with fantasy football stock in it.

Rookie running backs

The Jaguars were a solid destination for three different rookie running backs last year in Tuten, Allen and undrafted running back Ja'Quinden Jackson. The Jaguars' evaluations on running backs seemed very sound a year ago, and they would have been a perfect landing spot for a Day 3 rookie before the Rodriguez signing. Now, it looks more like the Jaguars shouldn't use a single pick on running backs.