- Tuten faces competition via a committee but still could emerge on top: If Tuten can handle the lion’s share of work between the 20-yard lines, he may be able to supplant Chris Rodriguez Jr. and LeQuint Allen.
- Cam Skattebo returns from injury: Against the same backfield touch competition, Skattebo was producing as an RB1 when he suffered a season-ending leg wound last year.
NFL running backs who dominate offensive snaps and touches by separating from their positional competition can power fantasy managers to season-long success by producing week-winning performances throughout the year. While efficient play is always ideal, high-volume workloads are critical for these apex outcomes.
Fantasy football RB2s and RB3s capable of generating a top-12 season-long positional finish must be targeted in drafts because of the asymmetrical upside that they offer. The article below breaks down two RB1 candidates who are currently valued outside of that tier.
RB Bhayshul Tuten, Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville’s backfield deployment has a wide range of potential outcomes. Tuten will not win the primary passing-down role.
However, it remains possible for him to consolidate early-down opportunities while stealing a fantasy-friendly minority snap share in two of three situational passing downs and assuming primary scoring-position duties. Should he accomplish all three outcomes, a top-12 positional finish is possible.
As mentioned in “Projecting 2026 fantasy volume through neutral-situation pass rates,” the Jaguars hired former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen as their new head coach in 2025. Coen increased Jacksonville’s neutral game pass play rate from 55.3% to 58.7%. From Week 13 through the Jaguars’ wild-card loss to the Buffalo Bills, Coen called pass plays at a 67.7% rate in neutral situations, ranking second among NFL offenses during that span.
Jaguars skill-position players get a boost from Coen’s overall fantasy-friendly tactics: “overall offensive snap share, situational snap share and rushing attempt share resoundingly showed the strongest correlation with the [RB1] group though low rushing attempt volume, stemming in part from pass-heavy offensive tactics, was positively offset by high target volume.”
Should Coen continue his late-season playcalling tactics from last year, Tuten could command an RB1-worthy target share despite losing the passing-down role to fellow second-year running back LeQuint Allen.
3rd & Long: RB1 (Rate) – RB2 (Rate) Pass-Down RB Rates 3rd Down: RB1 (Rate) – RB2 (Rate) 3rd-and-Long: RB1 (Rate) – RB2 (Rate) 2-Minute Drill: RB1 (Rate) – RB2 (Rate) 2025 Jaguars LeQuint Allen (66.0%) – Travis Etienne Jr. (24.8%) LeQuint Allen (81.0%) – Travis Etienne Jr. (15.5%) LeQuint Allen (65.9%) – Travis Etienne Jr. (34.1%) 2024 Buccaneers Rachaad White (76.4%) – Bucky Irving (17.4%) Rachaad White (80.6) – Bucky Irving (12.4%) Rachaad White (71.8%) – Bucky Irving (23.9%)While failing to secure a primary passing-down role is unideal, Tuten could still command an RB1-reflective target share on early downs thanks to Coen’s potential pass-heavy preferences. Tuten must improve his current career 14.1% target rate, but it notably towers over Allen’s 7.9% target rate. Tuten’s 59.1 PFF receiving grade also bests Allen’s 50.2 mark.
Allen is not a receiving threat. His 80.8 PFF pass-blocking grade ranks first among 35 NFL running backs with at least 50 pass protection snaps by 9.9 grading points, making him the league’s premier pass protector. He contributes to the Jaguars’ offense specifically in this manner and will not command a meaningful touch share.
Among the four 2024 RB1s who qualified as high-volume pass-catchers, all four led their team in rushing share. However, two qualifying players garnered just a 50.8%-to-54.4% positional rushing attempt share.
Jaguars free-agent signee Chris Rodriguez Jr. injured his left foot in an offseason workout. He underwent surgery and has been sidelined ever since. Rodriguez, Tuten’s rushing workload competition, is expected to return in time for training camp.
Tuten’s and Rodriguez’s rushing data, 2025
NFL RB Rushing Bhayshul Tuten Chris Rodriguez Jr. PFF Rushing Grade 67.7 78.4 Rushing Attempts 87 112 Missed Tackles Forced 19 23 Missed Tackles Forced Per Attempt 0.22 0.21 Yards After Contact Per Attempt 3.3 3.5 Yards Per Rush 4.1 4.5 Explosive Run Rate 9.2% 11.6% First-Down or Touchdown Conversion Rate 29.9% 28.6% Red Zone Rushing Grade 70.2 72.6 Red Zone Attempts – Conversion Rate 26 – 42.3% 33 – 30.3% Green Zone Rushing Grade 69.7 68.5 Green Zone Conversion Rate 8 – 62.5% 22 – 31.8%Rodriguez, 26, has recorded one career red zone target and failed to catch it. Tuten, 23, earned two last year, hauling in both for 24 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
The two players are fairly evenly matched, though Tuten (5-foot-9, 206 pounds) has performed surprisingly well in scoring position, potentially negating Rodriguez’s (6-foot, 217 pounds) size advantage in short-yardage situations.
Handling close to a 30.0% snap share on third down and in the two-minute drill is doable for Tuten. He should also be able to seize the primary role in scoring position.
Dominating snaps when the offense is between the 20-yard lines will likely be the critical factor that determines whether Tuten banks an RB1 finish. If he can lead the Jaguars’ backfield in rushing attempts, even mildly, achieving this outcome is doable.
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Skattebo was the Weeks 1-8 half-PPR RB10 and PPR RB10 when he suffered a season-ending ankle dislocation, fibula fracture and deltoid ligament tear last year. After a successful offseason surgery and working through an ongoing rehab program, he resumed participating in team drills at the Giants’ mandatory minicamp on June 9.
It’s important to recognize that Skattebo suffered a serious injury. Whether he performs at the same performance level is unknown. If he can fully return to form in training camp, he has a chance to reclaim the RB1 tier in his second NFL season.
The Giants’ front office added only one player to the backfield this season: undrafted rookie Damon Bankston. Skattebo has already conclusively demonstrated that he is the most talented player in the Giants’ running back group.
Among Giants backs in Weeks 1-8, Skattebo ranked first with a 58.1% rushing attempt share (101), a 53.4% offensive snap share (295), a 54.2% third-down snap share (65), a 51.5% third-and-long snap share (34), a 57.7% 2-minute drill snap share (30), a 67.0% red zone snap share (63) and a 69.6% green zone snap share (32).
Likewise, in that same group, Skattebo ties for third with a 13.4% target share (30).
Broadening the range also paints Skattebo in a strong light. Out of 34 NFL running backs with at least 85 offensive touches in Weeks 1-8, Skattebo placed 16th in offensive touches (125), 15th in offensive touch rate (45.5%) and scrimmage yards (617), 12th in average depth of target (aDot, 0.3), 11th in missed tackles forced rate (23.2%), 10th in missed tackles forced (29), eighth in yards per route run (YPRR, 1.54) and second in adjusted target rate (28.0%).
Similarly, among 49 NFL running backs with at least 100 rushing attempts in 2025, his 81.0 PFF rushing grade was 17th. Of the 42 running backs with at least 30 targets in 2025, his 82.7 PFF receiving grade slotted seventh.
As explained in Tuten’s section, simply earning an RB1-worthy workload by separating from one’s positional competition is key to producing a top-12 positional finish. Skattebo accomplished this as a rookie
In 2026, he will be running behind a significantly improved offensive line in an expectedly run-heavy, run-pass-option-infused offensive scheme. Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart, who earned a 69.7 PFF offense grade as a 2025 rookie, said in May that “it sounds like we’re not going to be throwing the ball a lot … We’re going to keep giving it to [Skattebo] until they can stop it.”
Skattebo offers clear-cut RB1 upside entering his second NFL campaign.