Jaguars Draft Review: Bhayshul Tuten is future RB1

A new coach brings new opportunities for NFL franchises. That is what is occurring with the Jacksonville Jaguars under head coach Liam Coen.

This season, the Jaguars are looking to take advantage of the talented roster they have and go from worst-to-first, putting their franchise quarterback among the best in the game and showcasing some of their talented playmakers to the NFL world.

While a Super Bowl appearance is unlikely this season, what is likely is vast improvement across the entire spectrum of Jacksonville's roster. One position that will benefit from this and Coen are the running backs, a room that brought in two new additions through the NFL Draft.

General manager James Gladstone and Coen selected a running back with their final selection in Syracuse's LeQuint Allen, a quality pass-catching tailback who could find himself in a significant role during his rookie contract. However, a few rounds beforehand, the team selected Virginia Tech's Bhayshul Tuten with their first pick on Day Three of the draft.

Tuten was a standout performer at the NFL Scouting Combine with a terrific 4.32 second 40-yard dash with a 40.5-inch vertical jump and 130-inch broad jump, showcasing his explosiveness to the world. He was also a standout at the Senior Bowl in January and clearly made an impression with the Jaguars.

At first glance, Tuten is a sturdy-framed runner with a strong lower-half and great density at 5-foot-8, 211 pounds. His low center of gravity allows him to build up energy and explode downhill on a consistent basis. Virginia Tech ran a heavy zone blocking scheme that fit perfectly with Tuten's skill set as a runner.

Tuten is a fantastic zone runner with good patience in the backfield to work through creases and exhibits the vision to cut back and explode into space. He does a good job pressing the line of scrimmage to navigate and dictate where he wants to go while showcasing an understanding of how to attack and dictate linebacker leverage.

All of this is showcased in the collection of All-22 clips below. Look how patient Tuten is to navigate and find those creases to explode and gain chunk yards before and after contact. This is a smart runner who shows no problems transitioning in Coen's offense.

One of my favorite things to see in running backs is if they have the ability to win the edge of plays with explosion and speed. Tuten provides that and it is one of my favorite things about him during the pre-draft process. His 40-yard time shows up when he gains control of the edge and defenders have their pursuit angles entirely erased in this regard.

Tuten's ceiling in Jacksonville is sky high for one significant reason and it is not just because of his fit in the wide-zone offense but his game-changing speed that can break open long runs for scores. This speed allows him to breakaway from defenders with quality third-level acceleration, a missing element to the Jaguars offense for the last several years.

One aspect of Tuten's game that should be appreciated is his ability in pass protection. There are times where he can be overaggressive and whiff against rushers but his mirroring ability and explosion allow him to stonewall opposing defenders, forcing them to reset and Tuten will put some of them on the ground. This is a player not afraid to get messy.

Tuten's ceiling and upside are fascinating, but there is one major, glaring issue that has continued to pop up for the standout Hokie: ball security. Tuten has put the ball on the ground four times in each of the last two seasons and for a lot of teams, eight fumbles in two seasons can be an automatic turnoff. For Jacksonville, it seems to me they feel he can improve in this area.

One thing I will point out is that Tuten does have small hands and it may have a role in these issues. He will need to two-hand-protect the ball in the box when in traffic to be creative in space.

Furthermore, Tuten's small hands and lack of ball production as a receiver raise questions about his ability in this area. Is he reliable enough in pass protection to be a true third-down running back in the NFL? That is why the Jaguars also drafted Allen, will likely take over the third-down pass-catching reps down the line.

Overall, Tuten has one clear area for improvement and it is something that will take time. The Jaguars don't seem to be getting him involved with first-team reps, which goes to show he is likely a long-term developmental piece in the backfield with Allen.

For now, it is Tank Bigsby and Travis Etienne leading the backfield for Jacksonville. Tuten's combination of explosiveness, vision, and balance makes him a terrific fit in Coen's wide-zone offense and should he have better control of the ball on touches, the former North Carolina A&T transfer could quickly challenge for No. 1 running back snaps.

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