The Jacksonville Jaguars will face the Green Bay Packers in Week 8. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding RB Travis Etienne Jr.
Is Travis Etienne Playing in Week 8?
Travis Etienne Jr. (hamstring) missed Week 7 and is still considered day to day, Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said on Wednesday.
Etienne was a limited participant in practice on Thursday. This comes one day after he participated in individual drills during practice and then worked with the club’s training staff afterward.
On Friday, Pederson said Etienne will be a game-time decision against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
With Etienne sidelined against the Patriots in London, Tank Bigsby assumed RB1 duties for the Jaguars, posting his second 100-yard rushing game in three weeks while scoring two touchdowns. Among RBs with at least 40 carries, Bigsby ranks No. 1 in yards after contact per attempt (4.57) and No. 5 in explosive run rate (13.4%).
We’ll continue to monitor the Jaguars’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Travis Etienne in Week 8?
It hasn’t been a fun first seven weeks if you ponied up for Etienne during the summer. Across most sites, his ADP landed in the top 10 at the position. Hopefully, the rest of your team has picked up the slack.
After flirting with 1,500 scrimmage yards last season and scoring 12 times, Etienne doesn’t have a finish better than RB20 this season, has seen his second-year backup thrive, and is now dealing with a soft tissue injury.
Awesome.
I’d love to tell you it gets better moving forward, but I’m not sure I believe it. Even if he proves healthy and wins his lead role back (two very big “ifs” at this point), are we sure that the RB1 in Jacksonville is going to matter by the time that happens?
- Week 12: BYE
- Week 13: vs. Houston Texans
- Week 14: at Tennessee Titans
- Week 15: vs. New York Jets
- Week 16: at Las Vegas Raiders
- Week 17: vs. Tennessee Titans
There are three touch matchups in there, and the one advantageous spot (Week 16) could come with your season on the line, asking you to trust a player you theoretically haven’t played for weeks. Heck, you can’t even catch the second Colts matchup, an obviously a good spot, until Week 18 when most leagues are done.
You’ll have to track Etienne’s hamstring throughout this week, but more for the value of Tank Bigbsy than anything. Etienne is firmly in the need-to-see-it-before-believing-it tier, along with about a dozen running backs that are putting our collective minds in a pretzel.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 8 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Travis Etienne’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 8
Etienne is projected to score 9.3 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 9.1 rushing attempts for 39.3 yards and 0.3 touchdowns. It also includes 2 receptions for 14.8 yards and 0 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
Travis Etienne’s Week 8 Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.
Conference Championship RB PPR Rankings
1) Saquon Barkley | PHI (vs. WAS)
2) James Cook | BUF (at KC)
3) Brian Robinson Jr. | WAS (at PHI)
4) Isiah Pacheco | KC (vs. BUF)
5) Kareem Hunt | KC (vs. BUF)
6) Austin Ekeler | WAS (at PHI)
7) Ray Davis | BUF (at KC)
8) Ty Johnson | BUF (at KC)
9) Samaje Perine | KC (vs. BUF)
10) Kenneth Gainwell | PHI (vs. WAS)
11) Jeremy McNichols | WAS (at PHI)
12) Will Shipley | PHI (vs. WAS)
13) Carson Steele | KC (vs. BUF)
14) Reggie Gilliam | BUF (at KC)
15) Chris Rodriguez Jr. | WAS (at PHI)
Green Bay Packers at Jacksonville Jaguars Insights
Green Bay Packers
Team: The Packers have won three straight games and are seeking their first four-game win streak since December 2022.
QB: Jordan Love has thrown multiple TD in eight straight games. That’s the fourth-longest streak by a QB age 25 or younger, behind Patrick Mahomes (14), Brett Favre (12), and Dan Marino (10).
Offense: The Packers are explosive, but since 2022, they have ranked 23rd in red zone offense (54.2% this season, ranking 18th behind the Panthers, Titans, and Jets).
Defense: Green Bay is allowing the fourth-lowest third-down completion percentage (46.7%) and has yet to allow a third-down touchdown pass.
Fantasy: Josh Jacobs caught the first touchdown of his career on Sunday and now has at least four catches or 18 carries in all four games since Jordan Love returned.
Betting: The Packers beat the Rams 24-19 (closing total: 49.5) in Week 5, snapping a streak of six straight overs in Jordan Love road starts.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Team: This team returns from London to begin, without much question, their most difficult four-game straight of the season (vs. Packers, at Eagles, vs. Vikings, and at Lions).
QB: Trevor Lawrence has posted three straight passer ratings north of 90 on the heels of three straight under 90 (Jacksonville is 2-1 after an 0-4 start).
Offense: By EPA per game, this is the worst offense in the league (7.6% worse than the Panthers).
Defense: The Jaguars own the league’s worst red zone defense, allowing a touchdown on 78.3% of such drives.
Fantasy: Tank Bigsby has multiple rushing scores in two of his past three and at least 90 rushing yards in three of four. His role is trending toward that of a bellcow (Travis Etienne – hamstring), but with just one catch against his 67 carries this season is a ceiling capper.
Betting: In their three games before the London trip last season, the Jags were 1-2 ATS (average cover margin: -8.5 points). In their first three games back in the States, they went 3-0 ATS (average cover margin: +10.0 points).
