Tuten ($6,600) missed practice Wednesday with a foot/ankle injury and he was the only Jaguars player spotted without a helmet at Thursday’s practice, per the Florida Times-Union’s Ryan O’Halloran.
Tuten suffered this foot/ankle injury in the Jaguars’ win over the Colts in Week 8 and he didn’t practice last week as a result, but ended up playing in the team’s Week 9 matchup vs. the Ravens on Thursday. So, even if Tuten doesn’t practice this week, that doesn’t mean he won’t play this Sunday vs. the Titans.
Tuten being inactive is obviously a possibility, though, and if that is the case, how strong of a fantasy play will Chris Rodriguez Jr. ($5,100) be for Week 10?
Chris Rodriguez Jr.’s Week 10 Fantasy Outlook
If Tuten is out, Rodriguez Jr. will be the next man up in this backfield and an excellent fantasy play. The veteran has been Tuten’s primary backup and Rodriguez Jr. would likely soak up almost all of Tuten’s work if he sat.
This season, Tuten is averaging 14 carries per game and handling 57% of the Jaguars’ running back carries on a 52% snap rate. The back is also running a route on 37% of his team’s dropbacks and commanding a target on 18% of his routes. With this role, Tuten is the No.15 scoring running back for fantasy football.
Rodriguez Jr. would be in line for 15-20 touches if Tuten is out and he could do some real damage with this type of volume. Rodriguez Jr. is averaging 4.2 YPC and he is producing 0.42 FPTS per snap. This ranks 24th among all running backs and ahead of some big names, including D’Andre Swift, Jaylen Warren, Kyren Williams and Javonte Williams.
Rodriguez Jr. is going against a weak Titans’ defense this Sunday that is allowing the fourth-highest rushing success rate in the league this season. The Jaguars are a 10.5-point favorite for this matchup and they carry a 28.5-point implied team total on DraftKings Sportsbook, which is third-highest of Week 10.
This is an elite setup and Rodriguez Jr. will be a top-15 running back for Week 10 if Tuten is out. At only $5,100 on DraftKings, Rodriguez Jr. will also be an outstanding value play for DFS.
Now, if Tuten plays, will Rodriguez Jr. still have appeal? Well, even with Tuten active the last two weeks, Rodriguez Jr. has scored 12.8 and 11.2 FPTS. In last week’s 33-10 blowout win over the Ravens, Tuten was limited to just 12 touches on 20 snaps after missing practice all week and as a result, Rodriguez saw a near-identical workload with 12 touches on 25 snaps.
The Jaguars easily could run away with another win this week vs. the Titans and Tuten being limited again is also possible, leaving Rodriguez Jr. with a sizable role. Obviously, Rodriguez Jr. is going to be a much weaker option if Tuten plays, but Rodriguez Jr. will still be a viable FLEX play in that situation, given that Tuten clearly isn’t 100% right now.
