Travis Etienne Fantasy Preview
Anyone who watched those great Clemson teams over the past few years undoubtedly noticed running back Travis Etienne, a two-time Doak Walker Award finalist who would go on to set the Tigers’ all-time rushing record in 2019. Etienne surprised many by electing to return to Clemson for his senior season in 2020 but the school came up short in their bid to win another national title.
in his first four seasons at Clemson, Etienne looked like the best running back in the country before offensive line woes and some minor injuries hampered his senior season. Still, Etienne graduated with 4,952 rushing yards, a 7.2-lifetime yards per carry average, 70 touchdowns, and also posted impressive 102/1,155/8 marks as a receiver.
Although he was not the first running back drafted in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars were still intrigued enough by Etienne’s three-down ability to make him the No. 25 pick, reuniting the rookie rusher with his college teammate QB Trevor Lawrence.
While that pairing certainly lit up scoreboards at the collegiate level, the big question for fantasy football enthusiasts is how will Travis Etienne’s elite production and skills transfer over to the NFL game?
Skill Set
Etienne proved to be so productive at Clemson in part due to his durability but mainly because he had an elite, three-down skill set that should translate superbly into today’s wide open spread offensive schemes.
At 5-10 and 215 pounds, Etienne has the prototype size to be an effective pro running back. At Clemson’s Pro Day, Etienne ran a 4.4 40-yard dash, flashed excellent hands, and looked very fluid in drills. He also had a strong 121.0 burst score and put up a 104.9-speed score that ranked in the top 20%.
As a runner, Etienne excelled at creating extra yards with excellent vision, quick-twitch cutting ability, and a violent style that resulted in a ton of extra yards after contact. While that 4.5 speed doesn’t stand out, Etienne proved to be much faster in-game action. He consistently broke free for big gainers, including 16 career TD runs from 44-plus yards out.
In the passing game, Etienne showed considerable improvement in each of his four collegiate campaigns. With his first extensive playing time as a sophomore, Etienne reeled in 12-of-15 targets for 78 yards. But in 2019, he commanded 7.5% of Clemson’s targets and posted a phenomenal 97.3% catch rate (37-of-38 targets). It got even better as a senior when Etienne snagged an impressive 48 balls for 588 yards on 60 targets (12.2% target share).
With the power, vision, speed, and receiving abilities to play a featured role, Etienne’s rookie fantasy value now rests in the hands of hew head coach Urban Meyer, no stranger to scheming up some potent and versatile attacks.
Landing Spot
Including the 2021 crop, there have only been nine running backs selected in the first round of the past five NFL Drafts. Despite Meyer’s initial comments of using Etienne as a third-down back, that first-round commitment says that Meyer has bigger plans for their rookie rusher.
The fact that Meyer paired Etienne with Trevor Lawrence should certainly help from a familiarity standpoint. Meyer also indicated he wants to rely heavily on his running backs and expects to field a top-10 backfield.
Usage becomes a big question, with the Jaguars already boasting a superb young starter in James Robinson and signing Carlos Hyde this offseason. Etienne might open the season as the speed/change-of-pace back but it will likely be only a matter of time before he emerges as the Jaguars’ top fantasy running back.
The rebuilding Jaguars have an aggressive coach who plans on employing a high-octane, balanced attack. Jacksonville also boasts a surplus of talented young pass-catchers, including D.J. Chark, Laviska Shenault, Robinson, and newly-signed veteran Marvin Jones.
Expect Meyer to implement a lot of ’20’ sets, with Chark, Jones, and Shenault at receiver, and Robinson and Etienne also factoring in. Both backs can run quite effectively and are excellent receivers, which makes this formation particularly dangerous. Few teams have the personnel to implement this kind of offense, and that versatility is bound to create some mismatches in coverage.
Fantasy Impact
As with any significant fantasy player, volume will be key. While Meyer’s early quotes are worrisome, Etienne has the every-down skill set that all NFL teams look for in a starting running back. James Robinson himself is no slouch in this department, which gives the Jaguars two effective running backs that could either both play or could each sap opportunities from each other.
Etienne was too dynamic at Clemson to not emerge sometime this season as Jacksonville’s main back and he landed in a favorable spot with the kind of coach who should know how to employ Etienne effectively in what could be one of the top young offenses in the league in a year or two.
View Etienne has a high-upside RB2/3 to target in the middle rounds of redraft leagues who should exceed 200 touches as a rookie and could develop into a top-20 overall player if Robinson were to get hurt. As I write this (Mid-June), FantasyData has Travis Etienne ranked as the 23rd overall RB, 60th overall in our Fantasy Football Rankings for the upcoming draft season.
Dynasty Value
In rookie-only dynasty drafts, Travis Etienne is a different beast altogether. His three-down ability is the perfect fit in today’s run/pass option and spread offenses. In time, Etienne possesses the skill set where he could even develop into an Alvin Kamara-Esque option who annually receives 200 carries and records 50-plus receptions annually.
That kind of upside is obviously appealing to any dynasty owner, who could justify selecting Etienne anywhere with one of the top-4 picks of rookie-only drafts. The only players in single-quarterback rookie drafts that you could argue taking ahead of Etienne are Najee Harris, Ja’Marr Chase, and, perhaps, Kyle Pitts, who all dominate dynasty rookie rankings.
In a 1QB dynasty start-up, Etienne should be viewed as a strong RB2 who will warrant an early third-round investment.
In Superflex rookie drafts, Etienne slides down a couple of spots into the 6-8 range behind Lawrence, Trey Lance, and Justin Fields, while in a Superflex start-up, it will likely take a fourth or fifth-round pick to acquire Travis Etienne’s services.
