Jacksonville Jaguars general manager James Gladstone spins a football in his hand after the Jacksonville Jaguars’ third mandatory minicamp Thursday June 12, 2025 at the Miller Electric Center in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jaguars' Draft Class Earns Impressive Distinction

Originally posted on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI
By John Shipley | Last updated Nov 18, 2025 3:12 PM ET

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars had their most impressive win of the season in Week 11, steamrolling the Los Angeles Chargers in a 35-6 blowout -- and they could not have done it without their rookie class.

The Jaguars' rookies played a key role in the big win, even with the first two picks of the draft class being on injured reserve. And in doing so, two members of the draft class have earned important honors.

Rookie Honors

Both Jaguars rookie running back Bhayshul Tuten and rookie defensive end Danny Striggow made this week's Rookie Team of the Week from Pro Football Focus thanks to their performances, earning amongst the higest Week 11 grades of the entire rookie class.

"The former fourth-round pick out of Virginia Tech makes his debut on this list as a big contributor to the Jaguars’ blowout win over the Chargers. Tuten set career highs across the board by carrying the ball 15 times for 57 yards, eight of which resulted in first downs. Tuten also forced five missed tackles while rushing for his third touchdown on the season and a 76.4 PFF rushing grade," PFF said.

Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"I thought Tuten ran hard, he ran downhill, couple third down runs, got us vertical," Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said on Monday. "He did a really nice job and then obviously so did T.J. [Travis Etienne Jr.] and LeQuint [RB LeQuint Allen Jr.], but Tuten has been practicing better and better and as much as we can continue to get him involved the better our offense is.”

As for Striggow, he split a sack with Travon Walker and has now recorded multiple quarterback hits over the last two weeks as the undrafted rookie has made a key dent in the Jaguars' defensive end rotation.

Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"Striggow only played 10 snaps in the Jaguars’ win over the Chargers, but the undrafted rookie out of Minnesota made the most of them. Striggow generated a 33.3% pass-rush win rate that included him registering his first NFL sack," PFF said.

The Jaguars' rookies have already proven that they can impact winning football games. The Jaguars will now need to make sure they continue to carry this momentum moving forward as the Jaguars push for a playoff spot in a tight AFC race.

This article first appeared on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: