When Maurice Jones-Drew was drafted in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars, he joined a team that already had a star running back in Fred Taylor.
After the duo led the team to an 8-8 record in Jones-Drew’s rookie season, the pair of running backs led the way for an 11-5 team in 2007 that finished second in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.
Fifteen years later, Jones-Drew thinks the Jaguars have recreated that offense with the duo of James Robinson and Travis Etienne in the backfield.
“I think the Jags are going to go back to what we had when I was there with myself, Fred Taylor, Greg Jones, LaBrandon Toefield, earlier in my career when we had multiple guys who could come in and make plays,” Jones-Drew said on ESPN 690 AM in Jacksonville on Tuesday. “Let’s remember Doug Pederson loves to run the football so if you can get a running game going, it’s going to help a young quarterback. … I think they will be one of the top tandems.”
The Jaguars’ multi-faceted rushing attack of yesteryear was short-lived with Toefield joining the Carolina Panthers in 2008, and Fred Taylor getting released in February 2009.
With Robinson and Etienne at ages 24 and 23, respectively, the Jaguars potentially have a rushing duo for the next several years.