No player in the NFL recorded more touches through the first six weeks of the season than Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr., who already has 113 rushing attempts and 21 receptions. Those numbers aren’t too concerning to offensive coordinator Press Taylor, though.
“He hasn’t shown us he can’t [handle it] at this point in time,” Taylor said Thursday. “Obviously, we like to spread the wealth and we like to continue with the hot hand, whatever that may be; pass game, run game.
“He’s been a guy that is obviously a gamebreaker for us. He’s been able to come through in those situations when we continue to give him the football. He has opportunities and he finds opportunities, he creates his own opportunities at times. We want to continue to give the ball to our best players at all times.”
Last season, in his de facto rookie year (Etienne missed all of 2021), the Jaguars running back averaged 12.9 rushing attempts and 2.1 receptions per game. With over a third of the season in the books, those averages are up to 18.8 carries and 3.5 receptions.
While Taylor says he’s unconcerned, it’s hard to imagine this is the backfield usage the Jaguars envisioned for the 2023 season when they used a third-round pick to add Tank Bigsby and scooped up D’Ernest Johnson in free agency earlier this year.
Bigsby, 22, had seven carries in Week 1, but made a couple crucial errors in his NFL debut and hasn’t had more than three carries in a game since. His shaky pass blocking hasn’t made him the most reliable player in third down situations, either. Johnson has just 10 touches so far this season.
Its been the Etienne show in the Jacksonville backfield early in the year and that doesn’t appear set to change any time soon.