Fantasy Football guru: Jaguars RB Travis Etienne has top 20 potential

Second-year running back Travis Etienne figures to be an important part of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ offense in 2022 but he’s also expected to have plenty of value in Fantasy Football, according to guru Matthew Berry of NBC Sports.

During a Q&A session on the Fantasy Football Happy Hour, Berry was asked what kind of impact Etienne will have in FF this year and he says he the former Clemson Tiger has RB2 potential. “I have ETN ranked 18, so obviously, I think he can be a top 24 running back”, Berry said.

“I don’t think that the challenge for him to get there is that high. Again, we sort of talked about that running back dead zone and some of the guys that are going around him. But my expectation here is that even if James Robinson gets into the mix here, we think that ETN is a special player”.

Berry goes on to say that the Jags have produced fantasy-relevant running backs and expects them to be even more efficient under head coach Doug Pederson. Moreover, he believes Etienne will have fantasy value due to his pass-catching skills, “that big play ability, I don’t think he as to do much to return a profit he’s going at running back 22 and 44th overall in Yahoo“.

A first-round selection in last year’s draft, Etienne was known in college for his big-play ability, totaling 55 plays of 20 yards or more on the ground. The potential for that kind of play should give the Jaguars’ offense should juice and should make him an enticing option in your Fantasy league. Here’s the whole clip, with Berry’s Fantasy Football insight.

Jaguars RB Travis Etienne has the potential to become a dual threat

Etienne showed his potential for big plays against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1 of the 2022 NFL preseason. Although he averaged 2.6 per carry, he logged two plays that went for more than 10 yards on 11 touches. With better offensive-line play, the running back should be able to break off many big runs this upcoming season.

The one thing holding back Etienne’s production is the presence of fellow running back James Robinson, who should get his fair share of carries once he returns — possibly as soon as Week 1— from the torn Achilles last year. This will limit Etienne’s value on both the football field and fantasy leagues but he would still be a solid RB2 option, due to his value in the passing game.

Don’t expect Etienne to have a monster year in terms of fantasy football but he could be a low-key solid addition, especially in PPR (points per reception ) leagues. On the other hand, he won’t get a heavy workload because of Robinson. But that’s fine because the Jaguars have a dynamic backfield that should help them win more games in 2022.