Travis Etienne: Fantasy Football Outlook and Upside

Folks, we are just 25 measly days away from NFL football being back on our televisions. No, not just the irrelevant preseason action, but real NFL football that counts. This also means we are 25 days away from beginning another fantasy football season.

As the preseason rolls on for NFL teams, it’s draft season for fantasy managers. Over the next 25 days leading up to the kick-off of the 2023-2024 NFL season, I’ll be going over 25 league-winning players ranked outside the top 20 in ADP, that you will want to target. I will be going over the good and bad of each player, as well as my personal notes on the player discussed. There is so much potential across this list, it was hard to narrow it down to 25 players. 

Let’s get started with the first installment of my series ‘A Player a Day Keeps the Doctor Away’ featuring Travis Etienne. 

The Good: Workhorse Split  

Etienne missed his entire 2021 rookie year with a lisfranc injury in his foot. After a couple of weeks of backing up James Robinson, the team gave Etienne the reins to the backfield and he delivered. In his first start, Etienne rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries against the Giants in Week 7. Overall, Etienne has one of the more generous workloads between him and handcuff JaMycal Hasty.

Furthermore, Etienne’s 59% snap share was higher than Nick Chubb, Tony Pollard, and Aaron Jones in  From Weeks 7 to 17. Etienne was given at least 12 rushing attempts in all but three games, while Hasty stayed under five attempts in 7 of 10 games. All things considered, with a full season as the lead running back, he can definitely surpass his stats from last season. In fact, the other day in head coach Doug Peterson’s media session he said that he thinks Etienne can get, “1600 to 1700” rushing yards this season. Personally, I couldn’t agree more. 

The Bad: Pass-Catching Plateau

In PPR leagues, Etienne has an ADP of 40th overall and RB14 off the board, putting him in the fringe RB1 category. Typically, the top PPR running backs are exceptional in the passing game and have a weekly receiving floor to go alongside the rushing ability. The Jaguars really struggled to make Etienne a part of their passing attack in 2022. Don’t forget, in three years at Clemson, Etienne recorded more receptions than Najee Harris, Breece Hall, and Christian Mccaffery. All running backs who would become important to their NFL team’s passing attack. However,  PlayerProfiler data shows that Etienne’s 7.8% target share and 41% route participation is not enough to boost him into the RB1 tier.

Furthermore, the Jaguars also drafted running back Tank Bigsby in the round of the 2023 NFL Draft. We saw him do some damage in the first preseason game against Dallas after there had already been strong rumors in camp about using Bigsby in the passing game and around the goal line. Any optimism for more passing work for Etienne should be cautioned with the arrival of Calvin Ridley and Bigsby. 

I think Travis Etienne has the opportunity to be the dark horse for the RB1 spot. I do think Trevor Lawrence and the offense will be in a position where they have to score often. The more high-powered offense, the more red zone and goal line opportunities you typically have.  According to Pro Football Reference, The Eagles were 2nd in team total points, Jalen Hurts had 20 rushing attempts inside the 5 for 9 touchdowns. The Cowboys 3rd in team total points, Ezekiel Elliott had 16 rushing attempts inside the five for 9 touchdowns.

High-powered offenses will continue to find themselves inside the red zone and around the goal line. The knock on Etienne is that he struggled to convert his goal line opportunities for touchdowns. He had 10 rushing attempts for 2 touchdowns inside the 5-yard line. With a full season as the starter, he should have positive touchdown regression as he’ll be the full-time lead back. Personally, I don’t think Bigsby is a concern. I think more people like the name than they know the actual player. When the coach says he wants his running back to run for 1600+ yards, you should definitely believe what he says.

It would be nice for Etienne to get more involved in the passing game, but can we have the best of both worlds? Even if Bigsby vultures a few goal line touchdowns, Etienne can surpass his 1,100 rushing yards from 2022. Additionally, he could add double-digit touchdowns. Overall, that could make him worth his third-round ADP and provide the low-end RB1 numbers fantasy managers are looking for. 

Something nice that we are doing for this series is supporting a charity or cause for the player we’re covering for that day. It’s a cool way to show love to the players that go hard for fantasy managers week in and week out. 

Etienne’s charity of choice is the Lupus Foundation of America which is an organization that fights to find a cure for Lupus disease. His cousin passed away from Lupus and has honored her through the NFL’s “My Cleats my Cause” program. 

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