Fantasy football: Jacksonville Jaguars running back breakdown

Will there be anything left over after Travis Etienne gets his share?

The Jacksonville Jaguars have put together one of the quickest turnarounds in recent memory in the NFL – winning the AFC South title just two years after winning just one game and “earning” the right to draft franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

The Jaguars have invested heavily in running back, using a 2021 first-round draft pick to select Travis Etienne and a third-round pick in this year’s draft to acquire Tank Bigsby.

The team has built an elite receiving corps through free agency and trades (wide receivers Christian Kirk, Zay Jones and Calvin Ridley as well as tight end Evan Engram). This offense is expected to throw a lot but has a running game to complement that aerial attack to potentially make Jacksonville one of the most potent offenses in the NFL.

Fantasy Football: 5 breakout running backs for 2022 season

These running backs could become fantasy football stars this season.

Following roster cuts and waiver claims, NFL backfields have been sorted out and fantasy football managers are now ready to draft ahead of the season opener next week.

When drafting your team, keep an eye on these five running backs — they all have potential for big breakout seasons in 2022.

Fantasy football injury outlook: RB Travis Etienne, Jaguars

After missing all of 2021, what can we expect from the former first-round pick?

He wasn’t the first running back to come off the board in the 2021 NFL Draft, but when the Jacksonville Jaguars selected Clemson running back Travis Etienne at pick No. 25 many people were convinced he would be the running back that made the biggest fantasy football impact in his rookie season, alongside college teammate Trevor Lawrence.

But his rookie season ended before it could get started when Etienne suffered a Lisfranc injury to his left foot that required surgery.

Although he is still limited in the amount of work he has been able to do in Jacksonville’s offseason program and he will likely start training camp with some restrictions, he is expected to be fully ready to go. Etienne is stepping into an advantageous spot, considering what happened while he was rehabbing his injury.

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There was some confusion about the type of role Etienne would have in what turned out to be a disastrous 11-month debacle with Urban Meyer as head coach. Few teams use a first-round draft pick on running backs, and those that do tend to immediately make them the featured backs in their offenses. The plan was to use Etienne in a Percy Harvin/Deebo Samuel type of role as both a runner and receiver who could be lined up anywhere on the field. However, that situation has changed dramatically.

When Etienne arrived in Jacksonville, there were questions as to how he would fit with a running game that was led by James Robinson, who had been pressed into unexpected feature back status with the surprise release of Leonard Fournette in the days leading up to the 2020 season opener. Robinson carved out of his own role and posted a 1,000-yard rushing season in 2020 before Etienne’s arrival. However, a 2021 Week 16 injury changed the two-headed backfield plans.

Robinson suffered a torn Achilles in mid-December. The standard timetable (Los Angeles Rams running back Cam Akers excluded) for a full return from a torn Achilles is nine to 12 months, which could take Robinson well into the regular season to return.

Fantasy football outlook

From the Etienne fantasy perspective, it couldn’t be a better scenario. His rehab has been going extremely well, and he was running full speed at the team’s summer minicamp. While he is still not cleared for full contact, everything coming out from the Jaguars coaches and medical staff is that Etienne will be a full participant when training camp begins, and there aren’t concerns of a recurrence. Many players have suffered Lisfranc injuries that requires screws to be surgically implanted in their injured foot and they come back strong, and most leave the screws in the foot because there is little to no associated pain.

Factoring Robinson likely missing in action early, Etienne’s chances to be a fantasy impact player increase considerably and make him a player to target.

Etienne’s 2021 injury should not be a major concern heading into 2022, and his fantasy draft ranking as a mid- to low-end RB2 is warranted. He offers more value in point-pet-reception scoring.

Jacksonville Jaguars running backs: What to expect in fantasy football

Will one back emerge as the primary weapon in Duval County?

Coming off yet another unmitigated disaster of a season, the Jacksonville Jaguars at least head into 2022 with the appearance of stability after Urban Meyer’s embarrassing tenure. To replace Meyer, the Jags tabbed Doug Pederson as their head coach; Pederson compiled a 42-37-1 record in five seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and led the team to a Super Bowl title in 2017.

While this is a breakdown of the Jaguars running back situation, it’s important to note the presence of Pederson because of what his Eagles tenure tells us about how he likes to use his backs. During those five years in Philly, Pederson never had an running back top 180 carries or 900 yards in a single season. As such, we should expect a committee approach in Jacksonville. Now the questions become who will lead that committee? And what type of fantasy value should we anticipate?

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Fantasy football team previews: AFC South

Plenty of turnover in the division will make things interesting in fantasy.

The 2022 fantasy football draft season is starting to heat up now that we’ve gone through the height of free agency and all of the chosen rookies have been assigned to their professional home cities.

The landscape has changed a great deal for many franchises after a whirlwind offseason, and our divisional preview series will help you stay on top of all of the changes to date.

AFC divisional previews

East | North | South | West

NFC divisional previews

East | North | South | West