The Jacksonville Jaguars are still a work in progress. However, they have enough things going in their favor to make you think that they could get hot and make a playoff push.
One of those bright spots is their defense. The Jags rank 10th in the NFL in yards surrendered and lead the league in turnovers with five. Another reason they could make noise in 2025 is their running game. They have an NFL-best 339 yards two weeks into the NFL season.
Moreover, Travis Etienne has the second-most rushing yards in the NFL, only trailing ageless wonder Derrick Henry. But despite the former Clemson Tiger's success on the ground, he earned a shockingly low spot in a recent running back ranking.
Travis Etienne doesn't even crack the top 10 in a RB power ranking
Jacob Infante of Pro Football Network put together a ranking of the top running backs in the NFL after two weeks of action and placed Etienne at No. 12, pointing out that running behind an improved offensive line has helped him get back in shape.
"Travis Etienne ranks second in the NFL with 214 rushing yards heading into Week 3," Infante wrote. "He's one of just three players with multiple carries over 20 yards, and he's averaging a whopping 7.1 yards per carry on his attempts."
Infante continued, "If there was a concern last year about whether Etienne was the Jacksonville Jaguars' lead back, his play to start the season and their decision to trade Tank Bigsby to the Philadelphia Eagles. He's benefiting from the second-most yards before contact per rush, but Etienne has done an excellent job in his own right to start the season."
Oddly, Infante doesn't give a reason for giving Etienne such a slow spot aside from an improved offensive line. But he also noted that he's only one of three players with multiple carries over 20 yards, and his individual effort plays more of a role in those runs than whatever help he gets from the offensive line.
And in case you were wondering, Alvin Kamara (New Orleans Saints) got the top spot, Kenneth Walker III (Seattle Seahawks) was ranked second, while Breece Hall (New York Jets) finished third. Jonathan Taylor (Indianapolis Colts) and Derrick Henry (Baltimore Ravens) landed at No. 4 and 5, respectively.
Related: Bhayshul Tuten explained the jaw-dropping reason for his early rookie success
The Jaguars are pleased with Travis Etienne (and Bhayshul Tuten)
Even though Tank Bigsby got the lion's share of the workload in training camp, Travis Etienne was the starting running back in the preseason. Then, in the season opener, he once again got the nod and made the most of it, racking up 143 yards on 16 carries.
Following the win over the Carolina Panthers in Week 1, the Jags had seen enough and traded Tank Bigbsy to the Philadelphia Eagles, giving their vote of confidence to Etienne and rookie Bhayshul Tuten.
Although Etienne wasn't nearly as productive in the loss to the Bengals, he and Tuten combined for over 100 rushing yards. Rightly, head coach Liam Coen heaped praise on the running-back duo in his latest exchange with reporters.
"Two guys that both can, we've had success running the football with, and then both guys can catch the football and do something with it as well. Two and on the one screen, it's maybe a two, three-hour gain, and he and he split through, and Anton [Harrison] had an unbelievable block on that play," Coen said. "The effort that he showed on that screen, that kind of got out onto and on our sideline, was great effort.
Coen continued, "But it's the ability to say, okay, you can put either one in maybe different spots in some ways, but both can catch it and do something with it. I can't coach that. So you can try to design, to put them in a position to go get them in space and do what they do best."
“It’s the ability to say okay, you can put either one in different spots in some ways, but both can catch it and do something with it. I can’t coach that.”
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) September 17, 2025
Coach Coen on having both @swaggy_t1 and @bhayshul. pic.twitter.com/6mjQcj967L
Coen's early success in Jacksonville isn't particularly surprising when you take into account that he turned the Tampa Bays into a running powerhouse during his lone season as their offensive coordinator.
Next on the Jaguars' schedule are the Houston Texans. You can bet that they're going to lean on a combination of Travis Etienne and Bhayshul Tuten to try to come out on top. And if the duo has success, like they have the past two games, it will be hard to justify not giving them a high spot in power rankings.