If there is any offensive backup who really made a big jump on Saturday, it is undrafted rookie running back J'Mari Taylor.
The Virginia product has flashed at times throughout camp but seemed buried on the depth chart behind the likes of Bhayshul Tuten, Chris Rodriguez Jr. , LeQuint Allen, and Ameer Abdullah. Perhaps that will no longer be the case after Saturday. Taylor finished the game with 22 carries for 78 yards and two touchdowns, but that does not tell the whole story. He consistently was creating something out of nothing. He was able to show off burst, vision, yards after contact, and also had a few solid pass-protection reps behind an offensive line that was ... not doing a great job blocking. It was an all-around impressive outing.
John Shipley·
This is not to say that rookie running back J'Mari Taylor has not made some plays; he had a nice chunk gain right down the middle of the defense on Tuesday for one of the offense's better running plays. But with that in mind, it certainly feels like he has a long way to go to take the No. 4 running back role, or for that role to even matter much. Chris Rodriguez Jr. is clearly going to get more and more work in the run game periods of practice moving forward, while Bhayshul Tuten and, to a lesser extent, LeQuint Allen have taken the first-team reps in his abscence. Veteran running backs Ameer Abdullah and DeeJay Dallas look like they are getting more work than Taylor through the first few days of pads as well, which means we might not see an expanded sample size for him until the preseason games begin in a week-and-a-half.
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