Fantasy Upside
As Field Level Media reminded readers, Travis Etienne's 2021 pre-season Lisfranc injury was an ill-timed but temporary obstacle on his way to a star turn in the NFL. (If anything, Etienne got to sit out that whole embarrassing Urban Meyer year in North Florida.) Etienne eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in his first season of action and did enough to convince the Jaguars to move on from James Robinson, who was competing for time in the backfield. If you aren't worried about rookie Tank Bigsby, holdover JaMycal Hasty or new signing D'Ernest Johnson working into the backfield rotation, the big-play ability Etienne flashed at Clemson and the built-in chemistry with former college teammate Trevor Lawrence are huge positives. Etienne's ceiling remains high.
Fantasy Downside
Etienne's season was very boom or bust. He cracked 100 yards in a game five times. He also failed to crack 40 yards five times while tying for the NFL lead with four 40-yard-plus gains (Justin Fields, Derrick Henry). He was given a pretty hefty workload in the red zone, with 40 touches, but he had five total touchdowns, four of which came in one three-week span.
2023 Bottom Line
While Etienne is a great candidate for positive TD regression in Jacksonville's ascending offense, it's still fair to question his receiving numbers and overall role. As 4for4's John Paulsen, "It’s tough to project a big second-year jump for a player who was a fantasy RB2 last season and faces more touch competition in year two." His RB20 ranking and third round ADP appear to take all that into account.
