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2 reasons new Jaguars RB Chris Rodriguez caught Liam Coen's attention
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- 2 reasons new Jaguars RB Chris Rodriguez caught Liam Coen's attention
There are two things in particular that Chris Rodriguez will add to the Jacksonville Jaguars running back room -- his ability to bounce off tacklers and generate more yards than expected.
Last season with Washington, Rodriguez saw his role expand. This included carrying the ball 112 times while averaging 4.5 yards per attempt with six touchdowns.
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When it came to making defenders miss, Rodriguez ranked eighth among all running backs in average yards after contact. He would also rank 14th in rush yards over expected per attempt, according to Next Gen Stats .
As Liam Coen discussed at the NFL league meetings, these are two important qualities when it comes to being productive at the running back position.
"What I always really appreciate about C-Rod when working with him at Kentucky and then following his career over the last few years has been his rushing yards over expected and his yards after contact," Coen said. "I think those are the two areas you look at where you say, did you get more or about what the play was blocked for? And are people bouncing off of you? Do you know how to make people miss? Like how do you make people miss, there's a lot of different ways to do that. And how do you gain yards? There's a lot of different ways to skin that cat.
Coen continued, "Ultimately, for me and the style of team we want to be, to be able to punch you in the mouth and get some of those hard yards, getting a guy like Chris to complement that room as it stands right now. We're just trying to continue to add good football players."
Coen is quite familiar with Rodriguez's game after serving as his offensive coordinator at Kentucky during the 2021 season. That year, Rodriguez was one of the most productive backs in college football.
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How exactly the workload at the running back position shakes out this season remains to be seen, but on paper, it would appear that Rodriguez and Bhayshul Tuten will work together to shoulder the workload out of the backfield, while LeQuint Allen continues to see the field during more obvious passing situations.
Rodriguez signed a two-year deal worth up to $10 million to join the Jaguars .
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: NFL free agency: Why Liam Coen and the Jaguars had to sign Chris Rodriguez
