Is Tank Bigsby a Dark Horse to Lead Jaguars' RBs?

The Jacksonville Jaguars continue through offseason training activites and ther excitiment is only building in anticipation for the 2025 regular season that lies nearly four months away. There are plenty of questions that the team must answer at several positions across the roster, but there is one that stands out over others.

This offseason the Jaguars drafted two running backs during the third day of the draft; Bhayshul Tuten in the fourth round and LeQuint Allen in the seventh. In a deep running back class, these two players could challenge the incumbents, Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby.

Etienne enters the final year of his rookie contract with Jacksonville while Bigsby enters a crucial third season as the leading tailback from last season's abysmal 2024 season when the team finished 4-13 despite high expectations. Bigsby is an interesting candidate to step up ahead of the season, someone I wrote about as someone who must play with more consistency in 2025.

There is a scenario this season where Tuten and Allen overtake Etienne and Bigsby as the top two running backs on the roster. Jacksonville seems to be leaning into a youth movement at this time, especially with the emergence of Brian Thomas Jr. as a potential superstar wideout and a couple of young trench players on otherside of the ball.

Of course, we can't forget the Jaguars first-round choice, wide receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter playing a significant role in the team's future success.

However, I see Bigsby as a much better running back than some believe. According to advanced stats from NFL Pro, the former Auburn Tiger was 11th in rushing yards over expected (RYOE) and eighth in the same category per attempt among qualified rushers with at least 110 carries. Bigsby also ranked fourth in yards after contact per attempt (YACo/Att) at 4.0.

What does all of this mean? From what I watched on All-22 film after every game last season, Bigsby had a good tendency to create yards that weren't there, exhibiting great creativity in space at the first and second level. The contact-balance and explosive second gear is there for him to generate yards after contact.

Bigsby is considered a dark horse to lead the Jaguars running back room this season and I think he will eventually do so. The talent is there to be a great player at a position that is valuable in Liam Coen's offense. Should he have a productive third season in Duval County, Bigsby could be on his way to earning a new contract extension.

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