One crucial thing keeps Tank Bigsby from becoming the Jaguars' top running back

Running back Tank Bigsby’s sophomore season is off to a flying start, with the Jacksonville Jaguars temporary starter turning in another outstanding performance in London on Sunday. But as impressive as the former Auburn Tiger has been, the Jags aren't yet ready to make him RB1 on the depth chart.

Jacksonville’s third-round selection in the 2023 draft has stepped in admirably for the injured Travis Etienne and is making a solid case to become the No. 1 running back. However, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson is not on that same page, saying Etienne is still the go-to guy out of the backfield, as far as he’s concerned.

If Bigsby keeps turning in outings like we saw on Sunday against the New England Patriots, the pressure for Pederson to change the running back depth chart will continue to mount.

Tank Bigsby is having a bounce-back season for the Jaguars

Coming off a season where he was primarily used in short-yardage situations and mainly ineffective, Tank Bigsby’s shown his true potential in 2024. The 23-year-old has demonstrated his speed and power, running over several defenders time and again in their victory over the Patriots. He had 26 carries on Sunday, rushing for 118 yards and two touchdowns in his team’s second victory of the season.

Bigsby has rushed for over 100 yards in both of Jacksonville’s wins this season, scoring a pair of rushing touchdowns in both of those instances. While D’Ernest Johnson also got ample playing time, Tank quickly showed he could carry the load, making mincemeat of the Patriot’s run defense.

Pederson can talk all he wants about Etienne and how he’s rushed for two 1,000-yard seasons, but Bigsby’s performances surely warrant the Super Bowl-winning coach to reconsider who is his RB1.

So far in 2024, Tank has carried the ball 67 times for 415 yards and four scores, many of which were power runs right through the heart of opposing defenses.

He’s averaging 6.2 yards per carry and 59.3 yards on the ground so far in the regular season while picking up 17 rushing first downs.

If he can maintain that average, Bigsby would just barely surpass the 1,000-yard rushing mark in the 2024 season, making Pederson’s job, — should he still have it — that much harder.

What's Tank Bigsby’s kryptonite

Every superhero has his kryptonite, and that is no different for Jacksonville’s No. 4 out of the backfield. In Bigsby's case, his struggles in the pass-catching department are holding him back at the moment.

In his seven regular-season games this year, he’s only been targeted twice through the air and has just one catch for 28 yards. One noticeable flaw he showed on Sunday was a drop on a screen pass where he dropped what had the makings of a big play down the field.

Last season, Bigsby had just four targets, catching one pass for a mere six yards, so needless to say, he’s got a lot of work to do in that department. His size and strength do not equal someone with great hands, which is probably why his number is rarely called in passing situations.

If he can find a way to improve that area of his game, though, it’d be hard for Pederson not to give him the starting job.