Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne delivered a breakout season in 2022, emerging as one of the team’s best offensive weapons and proving himself in his first season on the field. Now, expectations are even higher for Etienne this year.
Selected with the 25th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Etienne missed his entire rookie season after suffering s Lisfranc injury during training camp. It forced him to spend his rookie year rehabilitating and his first full NFL offseason working to regain his form.
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Under a new coaching staff, Etienne had to earn a featured role. He averaged just 8.5 carries per game in the first four weeks of the season, but he averaged 4.24 yards per carry. Jacksonville saw enough, making him its starting running back and he erupted for 893 rushing yards 5.3 ypc) in 11 games as the starter.
- Travis Etienne stats (2022): 1,125 rushing yards, 5.1 yards per carry, five rushing touchdowns, 35 receptions for 316 receiving yards
Speaking to John Oehser of Jaguars.com, head coach Doug Pederson said he really believes Etienne can be even better in 2023 than he was last season. He also praised the young running back for showing he made improvements over the offseason.
“We’ve seen it this offseason; he’s progressed nicely there. Once we get the pads on and we start in our run periods, we’ll see how he’ll see the hole better. It just goes back to last year being kind of a rookie season for him. It’s like in the pass game: There’s a lot to learn, a lot to know and understand and, he’s really picked it up well.”
Jacksonville Jaguars HC Doug Pederson on Travis Etienne
Now, the bar is being raised for Etienne this season. After a breakthrough campaign, he went into the offseason healthy and sued it as an opportunity to better himself. In OTAs and minicamp, he put his areas of improvement on display for the coaching staff.
- Travis Etienne contract: $3.517 million cap hit (2023), $4.106 million cap hit (2024)
Pederson isn’t alone in the belief that Etienne has another step forward to take. Jacksonville’s running backs coach Bernie Parmalee shed light on how patience is the biggest room for improvement. He’s seen it thus far, but there’s even more room to grow.
“Anybody can get the ball and go. Travis is talented enough he can make a lot of things look easy. But you leave so much out there when you don’t stick to the plan. It’s more about patience, too. That’s what we worked on this whole offseason: Understanding blocking schemes, understanding leverages of linebackers, understanding your read, understanding your track, being patient enough to press it. Can you do it in practice? Then the big challenge, can you do it in a game?”
Jacksonville Jaguars running backs coach Bernie Parmalee on Travis Etienne
There’s a reason Jacksonville is high on Etienne. He ranked second among running backs in broken tackle rate (26.5%) and averaged 9 yards per reception, proving his effectiveness as a pass-catcher. Furthermore, he had the fifth-most breakaway runs (16) in the NFL.
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However, Parmalee also noted that it’s not always about the breakaway runs. Without patience, a running back can make the wrong read while trying to rip off an explosive play. Jacksonville needs to see that from Etienne and while he’s shown it early, it’s far more important to do it when the pads are put on.
There is one role Etienne might not play in 2023. On 10 carries from inside the 5-yard line last year, he managed just two touchdowns and averaged 0.5 yards per carry. It’s why the Jaguars drafted Tank Bigsby in the third round. He can be the goal-line back in Jacksonville, making Etienne the home-run threat in this offense while Bigsby takes over inside the 10-yard line.
