When you look at the numbers, Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne had a pretty disappointing sophomore campaign.
Yes, he rushed for 1,008 yards and 11 touchdowns while hauling in 58 receptions for 476 yards and a score, but he averaged just 3.8 yards per carry.
As a matter of fact, in 12 of Etienne’s 17 games this past season, Etienne logged under four yards per attempt and finished with under three yards per tote four times.
Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson is aware of Etienne’s dip in efficiency and thinks his heavy workload may be the problem.
“I think it’s a little bit of everything,” Pederson said during an interview with Matthew Berry of NBC Sports (via Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk). “He was getting it done. D’Ernest Johnson got hurt a little bit in there, and then Tank [Bigsby] was a rookie and learning and coming on,. We really like Tank and he’ll have a bigger impact for us this year for us. It’s not the recipe, necessarily, to put Travis in that situation. So I would consider knocking a few of those reps down to keep him healthy throughout the course of the year.”
Etienne carried the ball 267 times in 2023 and had the third-most offensive touches in the NFL overall, so it’s no surprise that he may have worn down throughout the season.
The 25-year-old, who played his collegiate football at Clemson, was selected by Jacksonville with the 25th overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.
A foot injury sidelined Etienne for all of his debut campaign, but in 2022, he was impressive, racking up 1,125 yards and five touchdowns while posting a robust five yards per carry. He added 35 catches for 316 yards.
The Jags are certainly hoping that Travis Etienne can get back to his previous self when it comes to being efficient with his touches.
Perhaps that will go a long way in helping the Jaguars get back to the playoffs after failing to qualify this past year.
More must-reads: