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The Jacksonville Jaguars surprised a lot of people with their decision at pick No. 25 on Thursday night. With a quarterback already locked up in Trevor Lawrence, who they took first overall, they decided to double-down on offense, drafting Lawrence’s college teammate in Clemson running back Travis Etienne.
The duo becomes the first quarterback and running back pairing from the same college to be selected in the first round by the same time in the common era of the draft. For the Etienne pick, Touchdown Wire gave the Jags a “B” grade.
Analysis: The team that selects Travis Etienne will have to understand exactly what he is — and what he isn’t. Though he does present more power at times than you may think for his size, he’s not a sustaining, grind-it-out runner. The upside is that players with Etienne’s explosive potential don’t exactly grow on trees. If he’s in an NFL offense where backs are used creatively in a multi-purpose sense, he has the potential to be a foundation back with as many receptions as carries; think of a super-charged Alvin Kamara or Christian McCaffrey.
Grade: B. Well, Trevor Lawrence can tell Urban Meyer exactly what Etienne is and isn’t. It’s smart to pair Lawrence and Etienne together again, but the Jaguars already have a fine running back in the underrated James Robinson, so we’ll have to see how Etienne is utilized.
Etienne’s a talented player, so this isn’t a knock against him, but the pick is a bit puzzling. Considering coach Urban Meyer said just last week that looking for value has been an emphasis in Jacksonville’s draft strategy, the decision to take Etienne doesn’t really add up.
There’s a good chance he would’ve been available when the team picks next at 33rd overall, and regardless, the Jags almost certainly passed on players that received higher grades — and would’ve filled positions of greater need. But most of those players (including safety Trevon Moehrig and defensive tackle Christian Barmore) weren’t taken in the first round and remain options at the top of the second round.
The Jaguars have a good running back already in James Robinson, who rushed for over 1,000 yards as a rookie, and they added Carlos Hyde in free agency. Etienne brings a lot of speed to Jacksonville’s offense, but it may have come at the expense of a player who would’ve made a bigger difference in 2021.