TRAVIS ETIENNE | CLEMSON 5’10” 215 lbs. 1/26/1999 (Age 22)
Travis Etienne was drafted 25th overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars, becoming the second running back and 25th overall player in the 2021 NFL Draft.
COLLEGE TAPE
Running: One thing clear about Etienne is his ability to get north in a hurry. Several long runs, some for touchdowns, against Notre Dame, Ohio State, Virginia, and Miami in his senior year alone proved it. He displays a very good ability to hesitate right before the line without losing too much momentum so that his line can create the hole. What does sort of worry me is how much he relied on his line to create that hole for him when running inside. I don’t see Etienne as a goalline back in the NFL because of this. His ability on the outside was very good. He reads his blockers very well and creates difficult angles for incoming defenders. There were plays where I thought he should have run for more yards but was taken down unexpectedly, and then there are plays where I found myself asking how did all the defenders miss him. What sticks out the most about Etienne is his contact balance. He shows flashes of Alvin Kamara bouncing off defenders in traffic before turning up the field for big gains.
Receiving: Etienne was a great receiver in college. He was heavily utilized in the screen game, but Clemson wasn’t afraid to line him up wide to let him run against corners. He does a great job catching with his hands and immediately looking upfield to find his blockers and incoming defenders. I can see him becoming a quarterback’s favorite check-down target very quickly.
Pass Blocking: In some of the bigger games, such as Ohio State, Etienne was having trouble with bigger defenders on his own. This won’t get any easier for him in the NFL. We’ll have to see if this impacts his ability to get on the field quickly, but there are ways teams can get around this to get their best players on the field.
Overall: Etienne has one of the safest floors at the running back position due to his receiving ability and speed. He’ll be a menace running outside and in the screen game, while being no slouch on the inside either. He may not end up as a goalline back, but he doesn’t need to be close to score. Running behind a worse offensive line in 2020 than 2019 after losing talent to the NFL draft, Etienne consistently showed the ability to make something out of nothing. Even if it’s just two yards, the little things add up when you can make a negative play into a positive. They added up enough for me to have him inch out Najee Harris as my RB1 in this class.
DRAFT ANALYSIS
Rapid Reaction to Draft Capital: Excellent
Rapid Reaction to Landing Spot: Great
FANTASY INSIGHTS
Oh boy. I really believed in James Robinson…but his fantasy value is now dead. Okay, that’s not fair. It’s not dead, but he’s essentially relegated to the Latavius Murray role with Travis Etienne playing the Alvin Kamara role in Jacksonville. Hard to knock anything about first-round draft capital for a running back, but I moved Etienne’s landing spot grade down to “Great” because I still believe James Robinson will be there taking away a lot of the interior running game work, especially at the goal line. However, despite the worse landing spot, I think Etienne will still hold the top spot at the running back position due to the projection of the Jaguars offense with Trevor Lawrence at the helm being the better long-term situation over Najee Harris in Pittsburgh. Etienne will provide a high PPR floor right out of the gate with his receiving skills and rapport with Lawrence. Etienne will be a target for me right around the 1.05/6 range in SF fantasy drafts this year. While others will chase after Harris being the main guy in Pittsburgh, I’ll take the better running back with the better long-term situation one or two picks later.
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