Bhayshul Tuten Is Starting to Take Control of Jacksonville's Backfield

Bhayshul Tuten's Week 2 fantasy line was good.

His usage was better.

Tuten carried 13 times for 65 yards and a touchdown in Jacksonville's 20-13 loss to Denver, adding two receptions on two targets. Chris Rodriguez Jr. managed only six carries for 13 yards.

The difference wasn't limited to touches.

Tuten's snap share on normal early downs jumped to 67.6%, giving us the clearest sign yet that Jacksonville may be moving toward him as its primary runner.

The early-down work is separating

Jacksonville opened the season with a much less comfortable split.

Tuten played just under half of the offensive snaps in Week 1, while Rodriguez was around 40%. Ameer Abdullah and LeQuint Allen Jr. also had roles.

Week 2 looked different.

Allen handled more of the obvious passing situations, particularly in the two-minute offense, but Tuten took a much larger share of the normal early-down work.

That's exactly where fantasy managers want a running back to separate.

Tuten then turned those opportunities into five yards per carry against Denver and scored Jacksonville's only touchdown.

The goal-line usage matters too

One of the biggest preseason questions was whether Rodriguez would steal the valuable short-yardage work.

That didn't happen Sunday.

Tuten played on half of Jacksonville's goal-line snaps and converted a one-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

If Tuten can combine the majority of early-down work with a legitimate share of the goal-line opportunities, he doesn't need to dominate third downs to become a weekly fantasy starter.

That is the key to his rest-of-season outlook.

This still isn't a one-back backfield

There are reasons to keep expectations under control.

Allen was more involved in passing situations, and that role could continue to grow as he gets healthier. Rodriguez isn't going to disappear after one game, either.

Game script can also change the rotation. Jacksonville spent much of Sunday playing from ahead before Denver's fourth-quarter comeback. A game where the Jaguars are chasing points could naturally put more passing-down backs on the field.

So this isn't a 20-touch lock every week.

It doesn't need to be.

If Tuten owns roughly two-thirds of the early-down work, gets 12-16 carries and remains involved around the goal line, that's enough to create usable fantasy production.

What should fantasy managers do?

Tuten should now be treated as more than a speculative stash.

He has earned a place in the flex conversation, especially in favorable rushing matchups. The next step is seeing whether Jacksonville maintains this split when the game environment changes.

Rodriguez managers should be concerned. His path to fantasy relevance becomes extremely touchdown-dependent if Tuten continues controlling the majority of early downs while Allen takes passing work.

Fantasy takeaway: Tuten didn't just score a touchdown in Week 2. He gained ground in the parts of the backfield that matter most for fantasy. If the early-down and goal-line usage sticks, Jacksonville may have found its lead runner.