Jacksonville Jaguars RB Travis Etienne was drafted along with Clemson teammate QB Trevor Lawrence in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Below, we look at Etienne’s 2021 fantasy football average draft position (ADP) and where you should draft him.
The early reports are that Etienne will be used quite a bit out of the backfield for receptions, and that’s something PPR fantasy players will certainly want to see.
As far as standard play, James Robinson was impressive last season, and he remains in the picture for the Jaguars. It will be interesting to see how new head coach Urban Meyer distributes the carries in the Jacksonville backfield, especially for a team that doesn’t figure to be very good.
Etienne’s ADP: 36.20
(ADP data courtesy of MyFantasyLeague.com)
Etienne is the 16th running back off the board, and his presence has dropped Robinson to the 36th running back taken for an average pick of 84.28. If you draft Etienne, you’ll definitely want Robinson as a handcuff. He proved last season he can be a force in the league when the Jaguars are committed to the run.
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Etienne’s 2020 stats (at Clemson)
Rushing: 168 carries for 914 yards
Receiving: 48 receptions for 588 yards
Touchdowns: 14 rushing/2 receiving
Fumbles: 0 total (0 lost)
Where should you take Etienne in your fantasy football draft?
Fantasy managers in PPR formats should have their feelers out starting in the middle of the third round for Etienne with slightly lesser value for the rookie in standard fantasy play as long as Robinson is around. Robinson is also believed to be a better pass blocker than Etienne, so that could work against the rookie, too.
The plan sounds like Meyer will lean upon Etienne heavily in the pass game as the third-down back, while Robinson eats up a lion’s share of the carries, at least during the early going. Remember, veteran Carlos Hyde was also signed, too, and he’ll be another mouth to feed.
That’s simply not good enough for fantasy managers in standard play. If he is still there in Round 4-5, and you feel strongly he’ll be able to take over on the regular, more power to you. I’d rather wait until Round 6, and he likely won’t be there anymore. No loss. If you want a rookie, look to Pittsburgh’s Najee Harris instead as he is a much better bet with much less uncertainty.
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