The Jacksonville Jaguars’ offense made several additions this offseason. They also will have a few key additions coming from injury who were on the team last season.
First-round selection Travis Etienne might arguably be the most important due to his versatility. He didn’t get to take the field for the regular season after sustaining a Lisfranc injury in the preseason, but is now 100% and has been participating in organized team activities.
While fans shouldn’t put much into how the team looks without pads on, Etienne has caught the eyes of many spectators with his speed. That includes CBS Sports analyst Jonathan Jones, who checked out the Jags this week and thought Etienne reminded him of San Francisco star Deebo Samuel.
In Tuesday’s practice session, Etienne was used exclusively as a pass-catcher in organized team practice No. 4, according to Jones. This caused Jones to ask if Etienne was considering a position change, but the second-year player said that wasn’t necessarily the case and that he was simply showing the team different ways he can help them.
“Nah, nah just position flexibility,” Etienne said. “If I’m in those positions throughout the game and we get good matchups, we’ll be able to exploit them. So it’s just me being able to do more and being valuable.
“Football is all about matchups so I mean if I could be like Deebo Samuel, I would love that. Honestly the game is a game of productivity. If you can produce, the team is always going to have a need for you. It’s just trying to be the best player I can be so I can be on the field at all times.”
The Jags looking to take advantage of Etienne’s versatility makes sense. When he was drafted last year, the team expressed that they wanted him to be more than a running back. When considering he was a solid receiver towards the end of his collegiate career in addition to being the Atlantic Coast Conference’s all-time leading rusher, one could see why they were interested in doing so.
With Etienne predominantly being a running back for his collegiate career, playing on the outside is something he said he’d embrace. It would decrease the wear and tear on his body, which could lead to longevity in the league.
For this reason, Etienne told Jones that his situation is a little different than Samuel’s, who is a receiver who moves to the backfield instead of the other way around.
“Well see it’s different for him because he’s the receiver going to the backfield. I’m the running back going to receiver,” Etienne said.
“For me that’s taking less pounding on my body. For him that’s putting my pounding on his. You’ve got to see it from his perspective. For me, it’s totally fine because I get to get outside in space and just work against DBs, smaller guys and I don’t have to run between the tackles. Who wouldn’t love that?”
Just hearing about Etienne’s potential usage should excite fans. All of this could come as he’s learning under a new coach in Doug Pederson, who put together a Super Bowl-winning offense in 2017. That said, there is no telling what he could dial up for Etienne when it comes to helping quarterback Trevor Lawrence and the offense after both struggled mightily in 2021.
If the Jags’ offense improves, chances are it will be due to Etienne’s and Lawrence’s connection. Both were key factors behind a very successful Clemson offense in college, and with Pederson’s coaching, that success could transfer into the NFL.
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