After a five-year stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars signed a four-year deal worth $52 million with the New Orleans Saints. There's no doubt that the Jags will miss him and his production, but they still have sophomore Bhayshul Tuten around.
Moreover, Jacksonville re-signed DeeJay Dallas in February, and later signed Chris Rodriguez — their only external addition — in free agency, so the cupboard isn't entirely bare even after Etienne's exit.
Heck, you could make the case that the Jaguars have a well-rounded backfield, even without Etienne. But based on a recent scoop, that probably won't stop them from making further additions to their running back room in the NFL Draft.
The Jaguars met with TJ Harden at the SMU Pro Day
Tony Pauline of EssentiallySports reported that running back TJ Harden has met with several NFL teams at the SMU Pro Day — one of them being the Jaguars — after not getting an invite to the scouting combine. Here's the skinny.
"Underclassman running back T.J. Harden, who did not receive a combine invitation, measured six feet, 218 pounds, and timed 4.59 seconds in the 40 and 7.40 seconds in the three-cone," Pauline wrote. "Over two days, Harden met with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Denver Broncos, San Francisco 49ers, and Kansas City Chiefs."
In spite of his relatively slow 40-yard time, Harden would be an intriguing talent on Day 3 in the draft. At 6'2" and 220 pounds, he has the size and falls forward when he falls. That would make the former Mustang a candidate to get plenty of work in short-yardage situations and the red zone. On the other hand, he has a limited burst, which could limit the amount of carries he could potentially get.
Either way, Harden has a skill set that could allow him to carve a niche in Jacksonville, just like LeQuint Allen Jr. did as a rookie. After all, Allen isn't the fastest or most explosive running back, but his pass-blocking prowess, along with his pass-catching skills, make him a valuable contributor on offense.
Could the Jaguars use a draft pick on TJ Harden?
Sure, running back is no longer a need, even though Travis Etienne bolted for the New Orleans Saints because they signed Chris Rodriguez in free agency. Rodriguez will compete for playing time and could end up getting a big role. On the other hand, one of the reasons Jacksonville let Etienne walk was that they drafted Bhayshul Tuten in 2025, and he showed big-play capability throughout his rookie campaign, especially in the playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Couple that with the fact that DeeJay Dallas and LeQuint Allen are in the mix, and Jacksonville won't be addressing the running back position early in the draft. Having said that, the team's brass could still add reinforcements in the later rounds, not because running back is a need, but rather because you can never have too much depth. Sure, the Jags' backfield is stacked, but using a Day 3 selection on someone like T.J. Harden would most definitely make sense.
After all, the Jaguars will have addressed most of their needs. And at worst, TJ Harden could be a depth piece. At best, they could end up with a hidden gem.