The Jacksonville Jaguars have mostly gotten positive grades, with one puzzling exception, for coming out of the draft with an intriguing haul. Sure, Travis Hunter is the crown jewel, but he's far from the only rookie expected to contribute right off the bat. Genaro Filice of NFL Media is among those analyst who likes what the Jags did and strongly believe another rookie aside from the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner will make a massive impact.
Filice ranked all 32 draft classes and placed Jacksonville at No. 16, noting that he can't wait to see how the coaching staff deploys Hunter but is also looking forward to seeing running back Bhayshul Tuten.
"Am I finally ready to discuss a Jags draft pick not named Travis Hunter? Yeah, sorry about that, Duval denizens -- Hunter’s pretty damn intriguing! But Tuten's compelling in his own right. The explosive athlete posted the best 40-yard dash (4.32 seconds) and vertical leap (40.5 inches) among combine running backs, and he produced at a high level over the past two seasons at Virginia Tech. The one thing he needs to work on: ball security. NFL coaches don’t take kindly to young players who put the ball on the turf."
Filice is far from the only analyst who's hyped up about Tuten. Louis Riddick of ESPN had nothing but good things to say about the former Virginia Hokie, noting that "if you don't buckle your chinstrap, he'll absolutely embarrass you." Similarly, Sterling Xie of Pro Football Network thinks he'll make fellow running back Travis Etienne expendable.
And that's the thing. The consensus is that the Jaguars no longer need Etienne after the arrival of Tuten, who took a trip to the end zone 25 times the past two years. On top of that, his 40-yard dash in 4.32 seconds was the fastest among running backs at the NFL Scouting Combine. The same was true for his vertical jump (40.5 inches) and 10-yard split (1.49).
Can the Jaguars truly move on from Travis Etienne with Bhayshul Tuten in the mix?
By now, you may be wondering, if Bhayshul Tuten is that good, why did he slide to Round 4? The answer is simple. As dominant as he was, he had nine fumbles the past two years. If he doesn't want to stay on the sidelines, he'll need to do a better job of holding onto the football. Furthermore, the Paulsboro, New Jersey native has the tendency to bounce outside instead of following his blocks.
The good news is that both issues are fixable with proper coaching, and if Tuten addresses them both, he could be RB2 behind Tank Bigsby in 2025. This takes us back to Travis Etienne. Could he really be on his way out?
If the season started today, Bigsby would surely sit at the top of the depth chart. Etienne would be the No. 2, and Tuten would have to work his way up. That said, they could both be on equal footing as there's a new regime in place and they'll need to prove themselves. And if it's a close call, the team's brass will surely roll with the younger of the two.
Etienne has a guaranteed salary of $6.1 million in 2025. Aside from freeing up that amount of cap space, the Jags could get a draft pick, maybe a sixth, if they trade him, instead of letting him walk next year, when he's set to become a free agent.
On the other hand, Etienne is just one year removed from a 1,000-yard season. Although he's coming off an underwhelming season, he totaled over 2,900 yards from scrimmage in 2022-2023. Jacksonville could most definitely use that kind of production at running back. Having him around would also provide insurance in case either Tuten or Bigsby misses time.
Working against Etienne is that the Jags also drafted LeQuint Allen in Round 7. If he also makes a strong impression in training camp, he could end up making his veteran counterpart expendable.
The bottom line is that Travis Etienne can still contribute, but the Jacksonville Jaguars won't hesitate to shop him if Bhaysul shows out.