While Travis Etienne's future with the Jacksonville Jaguars is in doubt after the selection of Bhayshul Tuten, his brother Trevor has landed with an ascending NFC team.
With the No. 114 pick in the NFL Draft, the Carolina Panthers have selected Trevor Etienne. They currently have Chubba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle in the fold. The former Georgia Bulldog will round out their running back room after the departure of Miles Sanders in the offseason.
Hubbard is the primary running back in the Carolina backfield, so Etienne will compete for a role behind him. He was projected to go in the fourth round and was No. 140 in Bleacher Report's big board, so you could argue that he landed right where he was supposed to.
Unlike his older brother, Etienne lacks top speed and power to break tackles. He makes up for it with great speed, so he may never turn out to be a featured back, but could carve a niche as a complementary back in a rotation. Here's what Kyle Crabbs of the 33rd Team had to say about him:
"He's not necessarily a well-developed player in every phase yet, as he leaves the college game with just barely more than 1,000 career offensive snaps," Crabbs said. "He's caught all but one career target across three seasons (62 receptions on 63 targets), but his efficiency there is aided by some vanilla pass game usage."
Crabbs continued, "In all, Etienne is a likable player who is still searching for his distinguishing characteristics as a player."
Bhayshul Tuten was a much better fit for the Jaguars than Trevor Etienne
Travis Etienne is entering a contract year, and due to the ascension of Tank Bigsby last year, there was uncertainty about his future ahead of the draft. The Bhayshul Tuten pick hasn't made things any clearer. If anything, it could be a sign of a trade to come.
Sure, Etienne is a former first-round pick, but he's coming off a down year. Had the Jags drafted his brother, it would've been a sign that they still trust him and expect him to be around in 2025 and maybe even next year. However, Tuten has starting potential, especially if he fixes his fumble issues. Meanwhile, Trevor Etienne figures to be a rotational piece despite the fact that he was selected just a few picks apart.
Granted, both Tuten and Etienne were drafted in the fourth round, but their skill sets are completely different. The Jaguars chose the former because they believed he better fits the vision.