Execs, coaches, scouts rank top RBs, Jaguars' Travis Etienne falls out of top 10
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler recently spoke to execs, coaches, and scouts across the NFL to determine who the "league's true insiders" view as the top running backs in 2025.
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A year ago at this time, Etienne was No. 10 in these rankings, but this year, he wasn't even among the Honorable Mentions or those in the 'Receiving Votes' category.
"Etienne failed to deliver a third consecutive 1,000-yard season for the struggling Jags in 2024, rushing for 558 yards and two touchdowns on a career-low 3.7 yards per carry," wrote ESPN. "How first-year coach Liam Coen integrates Etienne into the offense will be among the storylines worth watching in 2025 training camp."
As the numbers indicate, Etienne's production took a big step back last season. Not helping matters was the play of the offensive line, a unit that has been reshaped this offseason.
Etienne will be competing this summer with Tank Bigsby and Bhayshul Tuten for snaps. One fairly big change that Liam Coen has made so far to help get Etienne back on track is prioritizing getting him the ball in space, whether that be on jet sweeps. screens, or as a ball carrier out of shotgun.
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"He's been getting me a lot in space," Etienne said, via Michael DiRocco of ESPN. "I love me one-on-one with anybody and just being able to make that first man miss and being able to get the extra yards. I feel like Liam has a great knack for getting the players the ball. It's more so players than plays with Liam and he has a great feel for the game."
The running backs play a vital role in making things go within Coen's system. Looking at the Tampa Bay offense last season, the backs were featured regularly in the passing game, while the running and passing game concepts build off each other in this scheme to keep defenses off balance and guessing.
Etienne will have a role this season in the offense, but what exactly that looks like still remains to be seen.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Jaguars RB Travis Etienne falls out of top 10 in execs, coaches rankings
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