Even though Travis Etienne left in free agency, the Jacksonville Jaguars didn't draft a single running back in 2026. They were reportedly interested in trading up for Jadarian Price if he slid to Round 2, but the Seattle Seahawks took him with the last pick of the first round. With Price off the board, the Jags chose to address other positions, but they did sign J'Mari Taylor as an undrafted free agent in the aftermath.
Taylor joins a crowded backfield that includes Bhayshul Tuten, Chris Rodriguez, LeQuint Allen Jr., and DeeJay Dallas. He has his work cut out to make the 53-man roster but certainly has a shot. In fact, he's been generating hype in the aftermath of the draft, and an NFL analyst just called him Jacksonville's most exciting undrafted rookie.
J'Mari Taylor was just dubbed the most exciting Jaguars undrafted rookie
Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report drew up a list of every NFL team's most exciting undrafted additions. He chose J'Mari Taylor for the Jaguars, pointing out that
"Taylor may not have elite traits, but he has shown that he can be a productive three-down player in the backfield, and the general belief was that he'd be selected in the first half of Day 3," Davenport wrote. "The Jaguars' backfield is unsettled after Travis Etienne Jr. left in free agency—Taylor has a real chance to carve out a role in the offense."
Taylor was highly productive at Virginia, toting the rock 222 times for 1,062 yards with 14 touchdowns. He's a physical runner who can catch the ball out of the backfield and excels in pass protection. On the other hand, his limited lateral agility and his average speed in the open field were among the reasons he didn't get his name called in the draft.
With that said, Taylor is among the Jaguars undrafted free agents with the best odds to make the team, but it won't be a walk in the park.
Taylor probably won't be competing for the No. 1 or 2 job. Instead, he'll challenge veteran DeeJay Dallas for the last spot on the depth chart. Dallas landed in Jacksonville when Bhayshul Tuten suffered a finger injury late in 2025. While his production didn't pop off the stat sheet, he did make the most out of his chance on offense. On top of that, he turned out to be a key contributor on special teams. Not surprisingly, the team's brass brought him back on a one-year deal.
Now, Dallas will have to fend off Taylor if he wants to spend a second season in Jacksonville.
J'Mari Taylor gives the Jaguars options at running back
While the Jaguars would've surely liked to land Jadarian Price, part of the reason they didn't use a draft pick on the running back position was that they feel good about going into OTAs with Bhayshul Tuten and Chris Rodriguez as their top options on the depth chart. Moreover, sophomore LeQuint Allen Jr. fared well as a rookie and should see an uptick in playing time in 2026.
That leaves only one running back spot potentially up for grabs. Whoever gets it will barely get any touches on offense, so he'll have to contribute on special teams. This could give Dallas an edge over Taylor, so the latter will need to show his worth in that phase of the game if he wants to stick around.
J'Mari Taylor could turn out to be an intriguing addition to the Jaguars backfield, but DeeJay Dallas won't go down without a fight. This will make the battle for the RB4 job one worth keeping an eye on.
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