May 18, 2026, 9:14 AM ET

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. signed a two-year, $10 million deal in the opening days of free agency to reunite with head coach Liam Coen, who coached the offense for one year at Kentucky during Rodriguez's most productive collegiate season. With the departure of Travis Etienne Jr. opening up more than 300 opportunities from 2025, the expectation is that Rodriguez will split time with 2025 fourth-round pick Bhayshul Tuten at the top of a running back committee. Having never seen more than four targets in a season, Rodriguez will likely leave the bulk of the receiving work to Tuten and LeQuint Allen Jr., with contributions from Ameer Abdullah, but he should still find fantasy value through early down and goal line work. Last season, in a similarly ambiguous backfield in Washington, Rodriguez led the team in red zone and goal line carries, despite missing four games with a handful of injuries and ailments. His six touchdowns from Week 7 on helped to make him the team's most fantasy-relevant running back over the second half of the season. With Jacksonville's offense clicking immediately in year one under Coen, the Jaguars saw 109 total carries from within the 20-yard line to Washington's 89, with Etienne personally responsible for nearly half. At 26 years old and slotting in at RotoBaller's dynasty RB46, Rodriguez has legitimate sleeper potential as a back who could find plenty of scoring opportunities in an offense that again projects to spend a lot of time in plus territory.--Patrick McGrath
Source: RotoBaller