4 Jacksonville Jaguars who'll benefit most from Trent Baalke's roster overhaul

2. Travis Etienne, running back

Travis Etienne missed his rookie season with a Lisfranc injury but he wasted no time showing in 2022 why he was drafted in the first round the year prior. In 17 games, he totaled 1,414 yards from scrimmage and made James Robinson expendable. On top of that, he averaged over 5.0 yards per carry even though the offensive line didn't do a great job of creating lanes.

Etienne was expected to have a similar impact in 2023 and he kind of did. He once again crossed the 1,000-yard but averaged less than 4.0 yards per carry. Furthermore, Jacksonville was the team with the most runs for no gain last year. That wasn't Etienne's fault though. He still kept running hard and even led the league in broken tackles.

However, the offensive line couldn't block, and injuries exposed the team's lack of depth in the trenches. It also didn't help that offensive coordinator Press Taylor didn't make an effort to establish the run. You could make the case that injuries prevented Jacksonville from pounding the football but the Houston Texans had the same issues and still managed to do it.

In the end, the team's brass realized something needed to change and proceeded to make upgrades to the offensive line. Last year, they dealt with instability at left guard. To avoid having the same situation, they brought back Ezra Cleveland, who arrived via trade at the deadline. Moreover, the Jaguars signed veteran Mitch Morse in free agency to bolster the center position.

The additions to the offensive line should help Etienne pick up where he left off at the end of the 2022 season.