Jaguars are sitting on a breakout star and the league has no idea

All the chatter about the Jacksonville Jaguars moving on from Travis Etienne and the arrival of rookie Bhayshul Tuten has made Tanks Bigsby somewhat of an afterthought ahead of the 2025 season. However, the third-year running back is poised to have a breakout year and isn't getting nearly as much attention as he deserves.

A third-round pick in 2023, Bigsby is coming off a season in which he toted the rock 168 times for 766 yards with seven touchdowns as part of a backfield committee. Those numbers don't pop off the stat sheet. However, it's important to point out that the Auburn Tiger saw noticeable improvement after registering a measly 132 yards on 50 carries with two touchdowns as a rookie. On top of that, he reduced his numbers from four to two.

But the biggest reason to be bullish about Bigsby's chances of posting even better numbers in 2025, aside from the upgrades the Jacksonville offensive line got in the offseason, is his 3.36 yards after contact led the league last year. What stands out about that stat is that he did it while running behind an underwhelming offensive line. But wait! There's more.

There's more. He was one of two running backs who made the top 5 in both tackles avoided per carry and years after contract per rush last season (min. 150 carries) in 2024, according to Fantasy Football analyst Ian Hartitz. The other was Bucky Irving, and guess who was his offensive coordinator. That's right: Liam, the new head coach of the Jaguars.

Coen rose to prominence across the NFL because he turned the Tampa Bay Buccaneers into an offensive juggernaut in his lone season as the offensive coordinator. Their running game, in particular, went from one of the worst in the league in 2023 to one of the best last year. This is a long-winded way to say that Coen could do for Bigsby what he did for Irvin.

Tank Bigsby must improve in one key area to become RB1 for the Jaguars

Following the draft, a report suggested the Jacksonville Jaguars weren't sold on either Tank Bigsby or Travis Etienne, but both of them appear to be on solid ground ahead of training camp. Granted, rookie Bhayshul Tuten could become RB1 down the road, but Etienne and Bigsby seem to have a leg up right now. In fact, the rumors that the latter could have been traded might've been overblown. This begs the question: How can Bigsby be better than he was last year and seize the starting job?

Liam Coen noted, when talking about Etienne during mandatory minicamp, that the coaching staff won't be able to truly asses the backfield until they put pads on and face competition. Once they do, Bigsby will need to show that he's a much better pass protector. Last season, he gave up three total pressures and one sack on 23 pass-blocking snaps. That's simply too much, and if he improves in that area, it will be hard to get him off the field.

Simply put, Bigsby needs to round out his game if he wants to get as much playing time as possible, but the skillset is certainly there. It will be up to him to make the most out of his chances and fend off Travis Etienne and Bhayshul Tuten.

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