Travis Etienne Jr. Fantasy Football Takeaways From Week 1

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Travis Etienne Jr. Fantasy Football Takeaways From Week 1

Originally posted on TWSN | By Steve Bradshaw | Last updated Sep 14, 2026 11:18 AM ET

Since joining the NFL, Travis Etienne Jr. has been up and down for fantasy football. With Week 1 football to analyze, we’ll be doing just that for Etienne.

Etienne missed the entire rookie season after being drafted 25th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft with a foot injury. Then, in 2022, Etienne had 12.1 PPG, but the breakout came in 2023 with 16.6 PPG.

However, that was the peak for Etienne to date, as he would fall all the way down to 8.7 PPG in 2024 before scoring 14.9 and 14.8 PPG, respectively, in the last two years. With Etienne no longer on the Jacksonville Jaguars and signing with the New Orleans Saints, it’s changed his fantasy football quite a bit.

This season, Etienne was drafted with an ADP of 39.6 (PPR), making him the RB17, a mid RB2 in 2026. To start the year, we saw Etienne score 14.8 points (per FantasyData) against the Detroit Lions.

Travis Etienne Jr. Week 1 Snap Count Takeaways

First and foremost, there’s some very important context in this one. Etienne signed a 48 million-dollar deal over four years, but veteran Alvin Kamara is still on the roster.

That said, last year Kamara played in just 11 games, running for 3.6 YPC and catching 33 passes. A 31-year-old Alvin Kamara is aging out, and he missed Week 1 due to a knee injury.

#Saints RB Alvin Kamara, who is questionable with a knee injury because of an MCL sprain, is not expected to play today against the #Lions, sources say. He was a full participant late in the week, but was not quite ready.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 13, 2026

There’s no exact timeline on how long Kamara will be out, but the point is this could change things slightly in Week 2.

Going back to Week 1, Etienne actually still only had 10 rushing attempts compared to Kendre

Miller, who had nine in this one. For context, Miller had just 47 carries in seven games during the entire 2025 season.

Now, that on the surface is a bit concerning. At the same time, Etienne had significantly more snaps on the day, with 53 compared to Miller’s 26 according to PFF. Etienne was also fairly efficient with 4.7 YPC compared to Miller with 3.3 YPC.

Where Etienne thrived was as a receiver, drawing eight targets for seven catches and 32 yards.

My other takeaway is that Etienne didn’t even score a touchdown, but the Saints scored 30 points. With touchdowns being volatile, I’m bullish on this Saints offense being a bit better than expected, helping out Etienne.

After going through everything we know, Etienne is exactly who he was drafted to be in fantasy football this year. A running back who you can feel fine about throwing into your RB2 spot to provide a solid floor, but there are also red flags limiting his ceiling.

This article first appeared on TWSN and was syndicated with permission.

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