Jacksonville Jaguars RB Travis Etienne Jr. was a true workhorse last season. That led to an RB1 finish. But was his season as good as we remember? And should fantasy football managers target him in 2024 drafts?
Travis Etienne Jr.’s Fantasy Profile for the 2024 NFL Season
Heading into last season, the Jaguars made it very clear they wanted to limit Etienne’s workload. Unfortunately, rookie Tank Bigsby proved nowhere near ready to play in the NFL. As a result, Etienne saw a 75.7% opportunity share, sixth in the league. He was one of a very small group of three-down backs.
The volume was great, but it definitely hurt Etienne’s efficiency. He went from 5.1 yards per carry to 3.8. He only averaged 4.6 yards per touch, and just 3.7% of his carries went for 15+ yards.
Ideally, our running backs would see both heavy volume and elite efficiency. But if we can only get one, volume remains king. It very much served to offset the decrease in Etienne’s efficiency.
Etienne’s 12.1% target share was 14th in the NFL. He also saw eight goal-line carries. All of this led to him posting RB1 numbers.
There’s a lot to like about Etienne’s role. However, everything is not exactly what it seems.
The reality of Etienne’s season was that he had a legendary stretch of games from Weeks 5-8, scoring 36.4, 23.3, 22.7, and 25.9 fantasy points, respectively. Over the rest of his games, he averaged 13.4 points.
In simpler terms, Etienne carried your fantasy team to four wins. For the rest of the season, he didn’t really help you at all.
This is a new year, though. Etienne is unlikely to be as dependent on spike weeks as he was last season. At the same time, it’s fair to question whether the volume will remain where it was.
Is Etienne a Good Fantasy Pick?
Nothing has changed about the Jaguars’ approach to this backfield. They don’t want to be forced to keep Etienne on the field as much as he can physically handle. If training camp is any indication, they may get their wish.
Bigsby looks like a vastly improved player. The version of Bigsby we’ve seen in the preseason is probably wondering who that guy was that we saw last year. He’s a completely different running back.
If Bigsby proves worthy of being the RB2, we could see Etienne’s opportunity share drop into the 60s. Overall, that’s not necessarily a problem. Most running backs aren’t seeing opportunity shares above 60-65%. But Etienne is being priced based on his being the same type of fantasy asset as last season.
Etienne’s ADP sits at RB9. He’s a mid-second-round pick. Based on where he is in the pecking order at running back, I have no issue. Etienne is my RB10, but that group of De’Von Achane, Kyren Williams, Isiah Pacheco, and Etienne is all very much dealer’s choice. Who you take largely depends on your fantasy philosophy. You can make cases for or against all of them. Etienne is firmly in play for me.
My issue with Etienne is I have a difficult time selecting him over the wide receivers that will typically still be available at that point in a draft.
Etienne is a very safe pick. It’s very difficult to imagine him completely busting. His combination of role and talent won’t allow it. At the same time, that top-five season doesn’t appear to be particularly likely, especially in light of Bigsby’s improvement.
Etienne is a fine selection at cost. Perhaps I will take him in spots. But his overall outlook doesn’t overly excite me.