AFC South RB rankings: Where does Travis Etienne land?
![Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne (1) and Trevor Lawrence (16). [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union]Jki 081421 Jagsvsbrowns 52](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2Fhttps-3A-2F-2Fblackandteal-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fimagn-images-2F2018-2F08-2F17488573-850x560-6094e728ab121b1dccb530721fc9e0b09b0edbe48c6c44bb4d3c273cfec3f973.jpg "Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne (1) and Trevor Lawrence (16). [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union]Jki 081421 Jagsvsbrowns 52")
No. 3 running back in the AFC South: Travis Etienne, Jacksonville Jaguars
3. player. 52. . . . Travis Etienne
Travis Etienne is one of the Jaguars’ most intriguing players ahead of the 2022 season for a couple of reasons. First, he hasn’t made his NFL debut after suffering a Lisfranc injury against the Cleveland Browns in the 2021 preseason. The Jaguars are surely looking forward to seeing what the second year-pro can do on the football field.
Second, analysts and fans alike want to see if Etienne can be as good as he was at Clemson. If he doesn’t have any setbacks and displays the same burst he had at the collegiate level, the Jaguars’ backfield will be in great shape in 2022.
Etienne didn’t seem to have any restrictions in Jaguars minicamp and told Hays Carlyon of 1010 XL in June that his injury is behind him. More recently, he posted a video on social media of him training with other running backs such as Ezekiel Elliott and Melvin Gordon III. In the aforementioned video, you can see Etienne making cuts at full speed.
James Robinson is currently recovering from a torn Achilles he suffered towards the end of the 2021 season, and he might not be available for training camp. In fact, he could return until the regular season, which means that the Jaguars will lean on Etienne.
Etienne is expected to be a dual-threat on the Jags’ offense. And if he can be the same playmaker he was in college, he could become one of the most dynamic young running backs in the NFL. Having said that, it’s hard to see him surpassing the next two in this ranking, at least in 2022.