​Running back Chris Rodriguez has been easing his way back into full play after undergoing foot surgery this offseason, but he made his presence felt in a big way during Monday’s pads-on practice for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Rodriguez was signed in the offseason after Travis Etienne’s departure during free agency, and will be competing for the RB1 spot against Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen, with Tuten the presumed front-runner.While Tuten has had an impressive showing during training camp so far, making him appear to be a lock for the job, Rodriguez hasn’t yet been able to truly show what he’s capable of. He is a physical, punishing running back, and as such, seeing what he can do hasn’t truly been possible until the pads came on.And during Day 5, with the pads on, Rodriguez took the opportunity he had and ran with it, making one of the biggest plays of the day.Chris Rodriguez Jr just trucked a DB on a downhill run. A few former jags players on the sideline grunted in appreciation— Gus Logue (@gus_logue) August 3, 2026As SI.com’s John Shipley noted, Rodriguez had fewer carries than Tuten did, but he made his carries count.”[H]e did have the most compelling run of the day when he met safety Caleb Ransaw in the hole and bowled him over for several yards after contract,” Shipley wrote. “The Jaguars are expecting Rodriguez to come in and deliver tough yards up the middle from the jump, and he seemed to do that on every single touch he had on Monday.”It’s exactly the kind of play head coach Liam Coen said they had been expecting to see from Rodriguez in his post-camp press conference.”It just was one of those hits and yeah, he showed up, which is kind of what you’re hoping,” Coen said. “I think he was feeling better. He’s continuously getting better and we’re just trying to be smart with getting him to work, getting him acclimated while not trying to aggravate it, knowing that we’re so early on, and I know he was excited about getting the pads on.”The Jaguars faced a lot of criticism for not signing what analysts felt was a good enough replacement for Etienne. In 2025, Rodriguez rushed for 500 yards and six touchdowns on 112 carries last season, whereas Etienne has racked up three 1000+ yard seasons. However, Rodriguez has also never been given a full-time workload, so it isn’t truly possible to know what he can be capable of with more opportunities. And whether he is officially named RB1 or RB2, that opportunity is coming.Jacksonville has made it clear that Rodriguez was not signed to replace Etienne on his own; the plan seems to be to give all three running backs steady playing time in a committee approach that will utilize each back regularly. Tuten is known for making explosive plays, while Allen excels at pass-catching and ball security. And as today’s camp performance shows, Rodriguez is capable of powerful, bruising plays that give impressive yards after contact.This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Chris Rodriguez delivers big