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    Travis Etienne’s fantasy outlook and projection for 2022

    What is Travis Etienne's fantasy outlook and projection for 2022, and should you look to draft him at his current ADP?

    Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne is coming off a lost rookie season that ended before it began. Etienne broke his foot in August and has yet to play a regular-season snap. Now fully healthy, what outlook can fantasy football managers expect from Etienne in the 2022 season, and what is his ADP in fantasy football drafts?

    Travis Etienne’s fantasy outlook for 2022

    Etienne is not a rookie, but he might as well be. We don’t have any 2021 data to work with, so assessing Etienne is just like assessing a rookie.

    The Jaguars were one of, if not the worst offense in football last season. They’ve since made a few changes, most notably firing the worst head coach in NFL history, Urban Meyer.

    Etienne has seemingly recovered well from his foot injury and has been playing a prominent role in the preseason. With James Robinson recovering from a late December Achilles tear, the stage is set for Etienne to be the Jaguars’ lead back early in the season.

    Etienne brings with him an impressive collegiate profile. He was insanely productive at Clemson, posting two seasons with over 1,600 yards rushing. In his junior and senior seasons, he also proved to be effective as a receiver, catching 37 and 48 passes, the latter of which was in a COVID-shortened 12-game season.

    How the Jaguars’ depth chart impacts Travis Etienne’s fantasy projection for the season

    Etienne will reunite with his college quarterback, Trevor Lawrence. The classic narrative bodes well for Etienne’s chances at being the lead back this season. He will also benefit from having been out there with his teammates, learning new head coach Doug Pederson’s offense, and getting in the reps while Robinson is rehabbing his Achilles.

    It’s a good sign that despite both backs getting hurt, the only move the Jaguars made to address the RB position in the draft was to spend a Day 3 pick on Snoop Conner. As a whole, this offense can’t possibly be worse. Although they lost DJ Chark to free agency, they signed Christian Kirk, who will likely be miscast as their WR1, starting opposite Marvin Jones Jr.

    This Jaguars roster isn’t without talent, but it is without elite talent. That leaves a huge opportunity for Etienne to prove he can be that elite talent. And I believe the touches will be there.

    Last season, Lawrence targeted his running backs just 16% of the time, one of the lowest rates in the league. Some may view this as a reason to fade Etienne, but I look at it as more personnel-based. Lawrence threw to Etienne in college, and we have every reason to think he’ll be willing to do it again in the big leagues.

    Where Etienne may struggle is in scoring touchdowns. The Jaguars scored just 25 touchdowns as a team last season — 13 of them on the ground. If Robinson is able to get on the field early in the season, he would project to be the goal-line back over Etienne as the bigger of the two. However, if Etienne is able to secure goal-line work, his ceiling would be even higher.

    The good news is Etienne should be the primary receiving back. Robinson is a very capable pass catcher, but the Jaguars knew that and drafted Etienne anyway. They didn’t draft Etienne to make him a two-down grinder. This should give Etienne a very solid floor. I would be surprised if he wasn’t at least an RB2.

    Etienne’s ADP for 2022

    Etienne’s ADP is around 53rd overall as the RB22. I don’t consider any of us in PFN’s fantasy department particularly high on Etienne, but he’s our consensus RB19.

    The issue with drafting Etienne at his ADP really has nothing to do with the running backs. In fact, when mocking, I consistently find Etienne being the top RB on my board at some point. It’s just that area where he goes is filled with a ton of talented wide receivers.

    If you’ve started your draft without taking a running back, Etienne provides a solid fallback option in the third or fourth round. However, I much prefer the wide receivers at a similar ADP, so I don’t find myself drafting Etienne much.

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