What Have the Jaguars Seen in Rookie RB Tank Bigsby?
Few players generated as much excitement during the Jacksonville Jaguars' offseason program the way that Tank Bigsby did.
There is no question the Jaguars will have a clear No. 1 running back in Travis Etienne. But the snaps where Etienne isn't on the field can still be won, and Bigsby took a big step toward winning them during OTAs and minicamps thanks to his tantalizing blend of power, size, speed, explosiveness and, most surprisingly, ball skills.
A classic bell-cow power back at Auburn, Bigsby impressed Jaguars players and staff members repeatedly this offseason with his play-making ability in the passing game. It was an aspect of Bigsby's game that perhaps had a few question marks before April, but one that the Jaguars are confident have been answered.
"So when we got him also, you know, we got him it's like, oh, you know, he does have pretty good hands," Jaguars running backs coach Bernie Parmalee said at the end of the offseason.
"And that's with a lot of players. Sometimes you just don't know until you get them and you got your hands on them and then you sit there say, Oh, he actually can do that."
A four-star recruit who was the No. 4 running back in the 2020 recruiting class behind just Bijan Robinson, Zach Evans and Demarckus Bowman, Bigsby was named the SEC Freshman of the year in 2020 after he appeared in 10 games and carried the ball 138 times for 834 yards and five touchdowns, averaging six yards per carry.
Bigsby started 13 games in 2021, averaging 4.9 yards per carry on 223 carries, recording 1,099 yards and 10 touchdowns, along with 21 catches for 184 yards.
Bigsby returned as a starter in 2022, starting 11 games and leading Auburn in rushing with 970 yards, 5.4 yards per carry and 10 touchdowns.
And it was that production that helped Bigsby land on Parmalee's and the Jaguars' radar. As the Jaguars entered the offseason, they wanted to add a back who could complement Etienne and the other running backs on their roster. As Parmalee studied the crop of backs in the class, it was Bigsby who immediately stood out.
"I was sitting there. I was watching. I was going over my list. We watch this guy. And we watch -- I am on one back. You know, I write the notes down. to You get on a second back. You write the notes down. You get on the third back and it was Tank," Parmalee said. "And I'm sitting down with the clicker, and I'm going ... let me run that back. I kept watching and watching and he was exactly what we were looking for.
"This is the type of back we wanted to bring to the table, and he fit everything that we were looking for. And he popped off the screen. And that's the thing when you sit down, you watch the tape, you say, Okay, that's a good play. But for someone to say, Oh, woah, my goodness, I'm running this back. I said, Oh my God. I think we got one. I put a double star. Here's one right here."
Parmalee was impressed by what he saw on Bigsby's tape and Bigsby has since shown him more of the same in offseason practices. But for Parmalee, it was beyond what Bigsby put on film that sold him on the Auburn running back at No. 88 overall.
"And then we interviewed him at the combine. He was one of the formal interviews. So they said he did really well and he's smart. And then when I had him on the Zoom calls, you know, he carried himself well. And he was really knowledgeable on what they were doing at Auburn. He can articulate what the schemes were," Parmalee said.
"And then he just told me that he can retain stuff. So when I quiz him at the end, he retains it. And then his mindset. I found out that everyone that's been around him said that he's a tough, tough kid. And I saw that on the tape. And then just knowing him personally and getting to know him personally, that's his mindset."
