Bhayshul Tuten Fantasy Football Outlook: THE Breakout RB In 2026?

What a difference a year makes.

This time last season, the fantasy community was debating whether Travis Etienne or Tank Bigsby was the better option in drafts. Then rookie Bhayshul Tuten was an intriguing late-round dart throw at best, but was not in serious consideration whatsoever. Now a mere 365 days later, Etienne is in New Orleans, and Bigsby is backing up Saquon Barkley in Philadelphia, paving the way for Tuten to become fantasy football’s next breakout running back.

2026 Fantasy Football Outlook For Bhayshul Tuten

Tuten’s Rookie Season

We obviously have to take his first NFL season with a grain of salt. Tuten’s rookie year featured just 83 carries and fewer than 100 touches, but there were plenty of occasions where he flashed that exciting size/speed combination that made him an exciting prospect. Among running backs with at least 80 carries last year, Tuten ranked:

11th in avoided tackle rate (21.7%)
14th in YAC/ATT (3.22)
7th in success rate (46.9%)

While fellow rookies Ashton Jeanty and Quinshon Judkins’ lack of running room has been well documented, Tuten also struggled to find a ton of daylight. Among qualified running backs, his 0.48 YBC/ATT was the second-worst mark in the league, which likely played a role in Tuten having zero runs of 20-plus yards and just one of at least 15 yards. But knowing the player and the potential, that home run-hitting ability is certainly there.

As a pass catcher, Tuten didn’t offer much last season. But that isn’t because he can’t. During two seasons at Virginia Tech, Tuten handled a 13% target share, hauling in 23 and 27 passes (solid for college RBs). His role obviously wasn’t massive as a rookie, logging just 22% of the offensive snaps, 22% of the designed rush attempts and 15% of the routes. Tuten did get the occasional short-yardage carry over Etienne, and he often succeeded, converting 4 of 6 carries from inside the five-yard line into touchdowns. Overall, it was a fine rookie season from Tuten. He did just enough to show the Jaguars he deserves more touches.

And just enough to earn a starting job.

A Fantasy Friendly Offense

Liam Coen did a lot of good things in his first year as the head coach in Jacksonville. 13 wins, an AFC South title and a playoff berth likely had Jaguars’ fans happy when it was all said and done. And all that is great. But perhaps Coen’s best contribution in 2025?

Providing us with a very good fantasy offense.

Jacksonville was arguably the breakout fantasy offense of the season thanks to Coen and a second-half surge from Trevor Lawrence (also thanks to Coen). Their improvements from 2024-2025 cannot be overstated:

	2024	2025
Shift-Motion	42% (29th)	61% (6th)
Drives w/ Score	33% (25th)	42% (11th)
Drives w/ TD	18% (24th)	27% (6th)

And following Jacksonville’s Week 8 bye, this offense was even better. From Weeks 9-19, the Jaguars ranked third in points (2.81), fifth in touchdowns (32.4%) and third in scores (50.5%) per drive, while also sporting the league’s fourth-best red-zone touchdown conversion rate during that stretch (67.4%). It is worth noting that during the second half, Jacksonville had some pretty soft matchups, including the Raiders, Cardinals, Colts and Titans twice and the Jets. But they also went into Denver and dropped 34 points, as well as dismantling the Chargers 35-6. The leap from this offense propelled Etienne to 13 total touchdowns, en route to an RB13 fantasy finish.

This offense is great for running backs.

Etienne caught 36 passes last season, but the scheme offers both efficiency and upside for running backs in the passing game. In Coen’s first season in Jacksonville, the Jaguars ranked fourth in the NFL in running back screen routes. Etienne individually trailed only Christian McCaffrey in screen routes (19) and targets (14). So many of his looks were designed, schemed-up touches, as 49 of his 52 targets from last year were on early downs (94%). And this isn’t a sudden new development for Coen.

During his lone season as the offensive coordinator in Tampa Bay, Coen dialed up a league-leading 31 running back screen routes, with Rachaad White leading the position in such routes. White caught 51 passes that year, six of which went for touchdowns, the exact number of receiving touchdowns Etienne scored in his lone season alongside Coen.

Liam Coen’s Offenses

Year	Team	RB Screen Routes	RB TD Receptions
2024	Tampa Bay	31 (1st)	7 (2nd)
2025	Jacksonville	26 (4th)	8 (2nd)

I watched all six of Etienne’s receiving scores from a year ago because I clearly have nothing more important to do with my time. Four of the six were designed, legitimate plays to either get Etienne in a one-on-one matchup with a linebacker or out in space, with another two coming off screens. One against the Bengals was particularly fun, lining up Etienne out wide, half-motioning him to the right and then snapping the ball and throwing him a bubble screen. Then I went and watched all of White’s touchdown catches alongside Coen in 2024, four of which were red-zone screens. The main takeaway? I really don’t think it’s a coincidence that Coen’s offenses have ranked top-two in RB receiving touchdowns over the past two seasons.

Look, I’m not telling you Tuten is going to score six-plus receiving touchdowns this season. But just the idea that Coen schemes up high-percentage, high-upside looks for his running backs in the red zone is exciting.

That’s always an added element for fantasy running backs, but could be especially helpful for Tuten. With Etienne gone, Jacksonville obviously had to add to their running back room this offseason. After nearly signing J.K. Dobbins before he ultimately returned to Denver, the Jaguars turned their attention to Chris Rodriguez on a two-year, $10 million deal. A lot is being made of the history between Rodriguez and Coen’s history (the two were together during Coen’s time at Kentucky back in 2021).

It remains to be seen how involved Rodriguez will be with the Jaguars, especially considering dealing with a foot injury at the moment. While it hasn’t been the largest of sample sizes, Rodriguez has been an efficient player so far in his career. Among 74 running backs with at least 150 carries since 2023, Rodriguez ranks 15th in YPC (4.6), third in YAC/ATT (3.5) and eighth in avoided tackle rate (24.7%). He’s also operated as a plus goal-line option during that span, making it a possibility he assumes that role in Jacksonville. But he needs to be healthy, and with Rodriguez recently saying that the plan is to be back for Week 1, I’m a bit more skeptical. He also offers next to nothing as a pass catcher, hauling in a grand total of 26 passes across his collegiate and NFL career.

Expect most of the designed targets to go to Tuten.

Should You Draft Bhayshul Tuten in 2026 Fantasy Football Drafts?

Tuten is one of the more fascinating players in fantasy drafts right now. He clearly has upside and, on the surface, finds himself in an exciting and advantageous setup. The concern?

There are still moving parts, and the opportunity cost is pretty high.

Yes, I find myself getting more and more excited about Tuten’s prospects each day. But I do think there’s some risk here. We’ve seen this scenario plenty of times in fantasy—the backup running back takes over following the starter's departure and the hype intensifies. Sometimes it works out, but there’s also your Zamir White or Zack Moss examples. That’s not to say Tuten is headed for that path. He’s young, explosive and every situation is different. But the cost is what stands out. Tuten is coming off the board in Round 5 of drafts right now, an area where some good wide receivers and more solidified running backs are being drafted.

The Fantasy Life projections currently have Tuten penciled in for just under 230 touches, compared to Rodriguez’s 134. And while LeQuint Allen isn’t projected for many touches, we know he’ll be on the field in obvious passing situations. As a rookie last year, Allen logged 79% of long-down-and-distance snaps, as well as 66% in the two-minute drill. If Rodriguez eventually emerges as the short-yardage option, it’s entirely possible Tuten finds himself in a between-the-20s, 2025 Bucky Irving type role.

Of course, that’s looking at it through a pessimistic lens. The more positive outlook? Tuten is the most talented player in this backfield and will be too good to take off the field. There’s certainly some risk associated with Tuten. But given how fantasy-friendly Coen’s scheme is for running backs, there’s definitely some fear of missing out if I full-fade Tuten because of some ambiguity. Leaning into uncertainty in backfields can pay massive dividends, and there’s still so much upside here.

Ascending offense? Check. Ascending workload? Check.

It’s all right there in front of him.

Players Mentioned in this Article

BhayshulTuten
RBJAC
PPG
5.4
Proj
175.6

Published Aug 2, 2026, 4:00 AM ET