Chris

Rodriguez Jr.

Gibson slotted back into his role as the passing-down back for the Commanders. He was in on third-and-long situations, as well as late in the fourth quarter with the Cowboys up big in a blowout. Chris Rodriguez got a few garbage time touches, but Gibson remains the Commanders’ RB2. His role as a pass-catcher elevates him to a upside FLEX play for Week 13 against the Dolphins.

Rodriguez accepted a guilty plea in a pre-trail conference stemming from a charge back in May. He will next face any jail time but could face disciplinary action from Kentucky, which could result in him missing some games. Rodriguez has led the SEC in rushing yards over the last two seasons and could be considered an early-round draft pick in 2023. NFL executives take these matters seriously, and he will be asked about it when he interviews with teams during the predraft process

Rodriguez is the top running back in the SEC coming into the season and this Kentucky offense has the chance to have some breakouts stars. He’s definitely a power back because he’s not afraid to go up the gut and fight for those extra yards, and he usually wins. Coming into the season, he leads all SEC running backs in yards after contact with 1,351 since 2020. This has the potential to be a very stellar running back draft class and another impressive season will cement him as top prospect.

Rodriguez (5'11/224) needs to be talked about more. He and QB Will Levis were the cornerstones of one incredible offense on a Kentucky that made huge strides in a tough SEC conference. He’s intricate when finding his spots and always seems to get to the gap, but he also has the power to earn the hard yards. In a conference that saw a couple of players head to draft this past April and some that could be early picks in 2023, he’s been better than all of them as his 2,162 rushing yards lead the SEC the past two seasons. He would love to have another incredible season to help put the Wildcats in SEC championship contention but also make a case that his name should be amongst the top running back prospects in 2023

Additional charges for Rodriguez (5'11/224) included careless driving and driving without tail lamps according to a police citation obtained by media outlets. Kentucky led the Wildcats in rushing last season, posting a rushing line of 225-1378-10, and aims to break Benny Snell’s career rushing yards recording in 2022. He was booked in the Fayette County Jail.

Rodriguez (5'11"/224) and Wan’Dale Robinson were the engines of the Kentucky offense, and even though they will lose Robinson to the draft, Rodriguez’ return is a welcome sight for Wildcat fans. He rushed for 1378 yards and ten touchdowns this year on a fantastic 6.1 yards per carry, and he added three more receiving touchdowns to his total. Rodriguez is 1,134 yards off of Benny Snell’s career rushing yard record, so with another season like 2021 he will be Kentucky’s all time leader.

A grinding, workmanlike back, Rodriguez (5'11/224) didn’t have any rushes of even 14 yards today. But against a legitimate top-10 national run defense, Rodriguez refused to get tackled behind the line of scrimmage. After finding the end zone in the first quarter on a five-yard receiving touchdown, Rodriguez’s most important touchdown came late in the fourth quarter to give Kentucky a 20-17 lead, which proved to be enough for the Wildcats to secure the win. Rodriguez finishes his breakout 2021 campaign with 1,379 yards and nine TD on the ground.

Rodriguez (5'11"/224) and the whole Kentucky offense was able to break tackles and find space in the open field and Rodriguez added another 100+ yard day to his already great season. He gashed the NMSU defense for repeated big gains. His patience was on display on his touchdown, following his blockers to the left before bursting through the open hole for six. Rodriguez has been the steady hammer driving this Kentucky team forward during one of their best seasons, and he’ll continue to do so next week against Louisville.

Kentucky needed this win to stop the bleeding as their magical season hit a huge speed bump with three straight losses. This was a bad Vanderbilt team they could right the ship with and they did. Kentucky controlled the tempo of this game from the beginning. Rodriguez (5'11/224) and his second-highest rushing yards in the SEC were running at will in this game. He continually was able to get past the line of the scrimmage and run over Vandy defenders and was also able to find the open field a few times. He scored early in this game from five yards out when he went up the gut for the score. This was Kentucky’s best complete game in a while with a passing, rushing, and defensive touchdown in this game, actually that was just in the first half. This win will put less pressure on UK (7-3, SEC 5-3) as they will play a non-conference matchup against New Mexico State next week.

Rodriguez had a solid game, but the 5-foot-11, 224-pound bruiser wasn’t able to find the end zone, and the Wildcats didn’t find a win for a third-straight game after starting the season 6-0. Tough to put that blame on Rodriguez, however, as he’s closing in on his first thousand-yard season, and has been one of the better backs in the SEC. Rodriguez should have a big day next Saturday against Vanderbilt.