Bhayhshul Tuten continues to prove Jaguars were right to let Travis Etienne walk

The Jacksonville Jaguars were expected to regress in 2026 after letting running back Travis Etienne and linebacker Devin Lloyd walk in free agency. Both of them played a massive role in the team's turnaround last year, so there was a reason to believe that their departure would leave the roster with a couple of glaring holes. However, the Jags haven't missed a beat without them.

While Lloyd has continued to play at a high level with the Carolina Panthers, Ventrell Miller has turned out to be a more than capable replacement. Heck, he's even the highest-graded linebacker in the whole NFL. On the other hand, Etienne is currently on the Injured Reserve after suffering a hamstring injury early in the season.

But even if Etienne were thriving with the New Orleans Saints, it wouldn't matter much because Bhayhul Tuten has been a game-changer for Jacksonville.

The Jaguars saw Bhayshul Tuten take off vs. the Colts

Before Week 8, Bhayshul Tuten was having a productive season, registering 388 rushing yards with two touchdowns on 94 carries and 13 catches for 126 yards with two touchdowns. However, the former Virginia Tech Hokie had yet to post a 100-yard game. That changed when Jacksonville faced off against the Indianapolis Colts.

Tuten went off on the Colts, toting the rock 16 times for 104 yards with one touchdown. He added two catches for 55 yards and a receiving touchdown. Following the Week 8 win, the second-year running back is on pace to rack up over 1,600 yards from scrimmage and 15 total touchdowns.

After the win over the Colts, head coach Liam Coen heaped praise on Tuten, stating that he was thrilled to see him register his first 100-yard game with the Jaguars.

"Yeah, it was awesome. I thought Tut played really well, with seeing it," Coen told the local media after the win (0:46 mark). "Thought he was a little bit more patient. You know, this game was running through contact. Obviously, he was explosive in the pass game as well, which was nice to see in the screens."

Based on his performance against the Colts, don't be surprised if Tut gets an even bigger role on offense.

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The Jaguars need to get Bhayshul Tuten more involved on offense

What's surprising about Bhayshul Tuten's success is that he's yet to have 20 carries in the season. The most rushes he had were 17 against the Cincinnati Bengals. However, the Paulsboro, New Jersey native is making it difficult for the Jags not to feed him the ball, even though Chris Rodriguez is also thriving.

Circling back to Travis Etienne, it's not surprising to see Tuten thrive. One of his biggest concerns is that he averaged a measly 3.6 yards per carry as a rookie, but what many analysts didn't take into account was that Tut got way more carries in short-yardage situations than Etienne, which, in turn, dragged down his total average.

But fast forward to Week 8, and Bhayshul Tuten is emphatically proving that the Jaguars made the right call when they let Travis Etienne bolt for the Big Easy.

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