Fantasy Football Running Back Debate: Jadarian Price or Bhayshul Tuten?
Gold will be struck in the mid-rounds of your fantasy football draft. It happens on a yearly basis. In a chalky 2025, Javonte Williams did it. Entering 2026, I go on a quest to find the best mid-round running backs that have RB1 upside. Today, I debate Jadarian Price and Bhayshul Tuten as viable breakout candidates.
The Case for Jadarian Price
The Seahawks look to bounce back off of their Super Bowl victory with a new RB1. Price leads the way, followed by George Holani as the third-down back. Zach Charbonnet works himself back from injury in the meantime.
While Charbonnet has been speculated to return in Week 1, no sharp medical opinion expects him to be a viable asset early in 2026. Deepak Chona MD. SMA states that Charbonnet could play Week 1, but "suspect very unlikely" for that to end up happening. Chona goes on to clarify that Charbonnet's recovery schedule does not align with a September return, and more likely than not, Charbonnet will not be a capable high-workload running back until November.
With this in mind, Price must be valued as a solid RB2 in fantasy football. He will command much of the Seahawks' rushing offense for a large part of the season and perhaps the entire season. While consensus is lower on Price, I have him as a top-20 running back.
Over a 17-game season, Price projects to have 52% of the team's full-year rushing volume. Charbonnet will scratch and claw to 30%, and Holani gets the crumbs of around 10%.
I personally believe that if Price had not been playing behind Jeremiyah Love at Notre Dame, we might have seen him be among the best running backs in college football. It happens from time to time. A College football team has two elite running backs, and one shines higher as a top player in the entire sport. Prime examples feature Nick Chubb and Sony Michel at Georgia, and Joe Mixon with Samaje Perine at Oklahoma. At one point in time, Alvin Kamara was a fourth-stringer on Alabama.
The Case for Bhayshul Tuten
One year ago, Tuten was listed as the RB4 on the Jaguars' depth chart. Soon after, the team traded Tank Bigsby to the Eagles. Tuten then clawed his way up to RB2, behind Travis Etienne Jr. Once Etienne Jr. signed with the Saints this offseason, it made Tuten the RB1.
The latest edition of the Jaguars' official depth chart is not as keen on Tuten being "the guy." Instead, they list Tuten as a co-RB1 with Chris Rodriguez Jr., whom they signed from the Commanders. LeQuint Allen Jr. is the RB3, and very much unthreatening, and Ameer Abdullah will be the RB4.
A recent interview with Liam Coen put clarity on this backfield. The running back room "is going to have to be a little bit more by committee," Coen tells the media.
In 2026, that, of course, was not the case. Etienne Jr. nearly had 60% of the team's rushing volume. Tuten had about 16%, the third-most on the team behind Trevor Lawrence.
Our latest projections find the gap to favor Tuten, but by a small and volatile margin. Tuten is projected to own 41% of the rushing offense, with 30% going to Rodriguez Jr. Lawrence will get around 17%, and less than 10% will go to Allen Jr.
In Jacksonville, things will be risky. No running back is a proven weapon, especially as a high-usage asset in early down situations. Tuten's career is young, Rodriguez's career has been as a third-down back, Allen Jr. is young and inexperienced, and Abdullah scratches himself to another season deep down the depth chart.
My projections list Tuten around RB30, depending on the format played. He is on par with Rachaad White and Kenneth Gainwell.
To draft Tuten above ADP would be a rash decision. Especially with so many mouths to feed in Jacksonville, he is not a high-priority item, most notably in the red zone. I cannot see a world where Tuten's upside is all that high. He is worse suited to ADP than more promising players such as Rhamondre Stevenson and Blake Corum, to name a few.
Final Verdict?
The case is quite simple. Price is with a much stronger team, and he is quite obviously a better football player. Draft Price at ADP without hesitation.
More Fantasy Sports On SI News:
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.