•Bhayshul Tuten went from a zero-star recruit to NFL prospect: Tuten started his college career in the FCS and could not be selected on the second or third day of the NFL Draft.

• Tuten’s role could be restricted: Tuten is inexperienced on passing downs and doesn’t have the size of a typical goal-line runner, putting a ceiling on his potential fantasy production.

• 2025 NFL Draft season is here: Try PFF’s best-in-class Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2025’s top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.

Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

PFF’s fantasy football player profile series delivers the most in-depth fantasy football analysis available for the 2025 season.

Using PFF’s exclusive data, we evaluate player performance, competition for touches and how teammates and coaching staffs will impact each player’s fantasy football outlook.

Last updated: 7:15 a.m. Saturday, April 5

Player Performance

Bhayshul Tuten earned high grades during his first two collegiate years at North Carolina A&T before transferring to Virginia Tech. In the last two seasons, he has been the Hokies’ lead running back, although he has shared duties on third downs.

Tuten’s 86.7 career FBS rushing grade is the second-lowest among the top-11 consensus running backs, but he arguably had the least help from his offensive line. His 1.6 yards before contact per attempt were tied for the lowest among those 11 running backs. That likely hurt his ability to gain first downs, but he, at least, partially made up for it with his big-play ability. While Tuten posted a blazing fast 4.32-second 40-yard dash at the combine, his top speeds based on PFF’s tracking data have been merely average for a prospective NFL running back.

Tuten will likely need to land on a team with a high rate of using zone concepts. He had the second-highest rate of zone plays from the top running backs and one of the most significant dropoffs between his rushing grade on zone plays compared to man. Tuten must also work on ball security before earning a substantial role in an offense after fumbling the ball nine times at Virginia Tech.

Projected Role

Tuten will likely end up as an early down running back in the NFL. His third-down play rate decreased from his first year at Virginia Tech to his second. He was one of two running backs projected to go in the first few draft rounds with a below-replacement-level receiving grade.

He might end up in a backfield where he leads the team in carries but finishes second in fantasy points. However, there is also a concern that Tuten might not be the goal-line back for a team, even if he’s the early down back. He measured 5-foot-9 and 206 pounds at the combine. Kyren Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs, De’Von Achane, Aaron Jones and Zack Moss were the only running backs roughly Tuten’s size with five or more carries within three yards of scoring last year. Achane lost three yards on his 11 carries, Jones gained zero on his 10, while Moss only converted one of his six carries to a touchdown. While it’s possible a team could trust Tuten at the goal line, he might not be efficient.

This leaves an early down role. While there are some rookie running backs we can assume will have immediate playing time, that’s not the case with Tuten. He would need to compete with someone on half the teams in the league for those early down snaps. For the other half of the league, he would just be a backup and handcuff in his rookie season.

Most Mocked Teams

The Jaguars have Tank Bigsby for early downs and Travis Etienne Jr., who can play on every down. However, their new coaching staff might want to bring in some new players to increase the competition.

The Cowboys have already revamped their running back room with free-agent additions Miles Sanders and Javonte Williams. Tuten would have plenty of opportunities to earn playing time in this backfield.

The Steelers lost their early down back, Najee Harris, in free agency. While Jaylen Warren would likely lead the Steelers in fantasy points, Tuten would have the opportunity for double-digit carries in this offense if he plays well enough.

Bottom Line

The teams Tuten could land on are limited to zone teams that need an early down starter or backup. In the right situation, he could see 15-20 carries per game, but there is also a good chance he is simply a backup to begin his NFL career.

Footnotes

• Statistics in tables and charts were generally chosen based on their ability to predict future fantasy performance on a per-game or per-opportunity basis or for their ability to describe the player relative to others at the same position.
• “Opportunities” are defined as passing dropbacks, rushing attempts and receiving routes run.
• Numbers are either by season or based on the past three years. For rookies, only college numbers are included. Only NFL numbers are included for non-rookies, even if they played in college during the previous three years.
• Because college competition is easier than NFL competition, most rookies will likely see a decline from their historic numbers.
• Only FBS data is considered for college players and comparisons.
• Kneel-downs are removed from rushing data to provide cleaner quarterback rushing rate statistics.
• The colors for all tables in this article range from blue (good or high) to red (bad or low).
• All percentiles or colors compare the given player to other players with a high sample of opportunities. Generally, the cut-off is one-third of the possible opportunities in the sample. If the player in question doesn’t have enough opportunities, they are still compared, even though they could look good or bad based on the small sample size, which might not be as predictive.
• Information on utilization classifications and their importance can be found here for running backs, wide receivers and tight ends.