Travis Etienne Reveals Which AFC Team He Thought Would Draft Him in the 1st Round
Travis Etienne hasn't been shy about his pre-draft expectations of potentially landing in Jacksonville with former Clemson quarterback and teammate Trevor Lawrence, but there is another AFC team the ACC's all-time leading rusher thought he would land with in April.
During the team-produced video series 'The Hunt', which gives a peek behind the scenes of how the Jaguars' 2021 draft unfolded, Etienne revealed he thought he would be drafted a few picks after the Jaguars' selection at No. 25 overall.
"I knew it could happen, but I was thinking I was going 30 to the Bills,” Etienne said.
Instead, the Jaguars surprised many and took Etienne at No. 25 to pair with Lawrence in their new-look offense. Instead of taking his talents to snowy Buffalo, Etienne will be playing in sunny Florida this September.
The Jaguars weren't pegged by many as a team that would be in the running back market due to the presence of 2020 star James Robinson -- Jacksonville's best offensive player from a year ago -- but Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer wanted to add speed to the offense.
"Travis Etienne, and someone said why would you take another running back? He’s much more than a running back. He’s a slash — we did not recruit him just because he’s a running back. We probably wouldn’t have," Meyer said following the draft.
"He’s a guy that had a lot of production in the pass game at Clemson. He has excellent hands and he’ll be dual-trained, he’ll be a guy that we dual-train. Those guys are hard to find, but if you find one, we know how to use them. With him I expect an instant impact.
The Jaguars took Etienne just one pick after the Pittsburgh Steelers made Najee Harris the first running back selected at No. 24 overall. The Steelers -- and the Bills -- were seen as the two most likely teams to select a running back by many, making it a bit surprising Etienne landed with neither.
Buffalo Bills' General Manager Brandon Beane didn't dance around the fact that the Bills could add a running back during the 2021 NFL Draft, and the type of running back he suggested adding seemed to mesh with Etienne's skill set completely. As a result, it could be fair to presume the Jaguars operated under the assumption that Etienne wouldn't make it to No. 33 overall.
"I don't think either one of our backs are home run hitters, so is there an elite trait that this guy has and says, 'Man, he's got something we don't have.' That's probably the conversation, versus, 'OK, are we going to take the same type of back as Devin, are we gonna take the same type of back as Zack? Because even those two guys have different skill sets," Beane said leading up to the draft.
A four-star running back (No. 15 running back recruit) out of high school, Travis Etienne committed to Clemson over Texas A&M and LSU. What would come next would be one of the most accomplished collegiate careers of any running back in recent memory.
Etienne led the team in rushing as a true freshman, carrying the ball 107 times for 766 yards and 13 touchdowns while earning Third-Team All-Conference honors. He took his game to another level when Clemson won the National Championship in 2018, rushing for 1,658 yards and 24 touchdowns and catching another two touchdowns. His 26 touchdowns set a conference record and earned him ACC Player of the Year, First-Team All-American, and First-Team All-Conference.
Etienne repeated as First-Team All-American and All-Conference and as ACC Player of the Year in 2019 when he rushed for 1,614 yards and 19 touchdowns and caught 37 passes for 432 yards and four touchdowns. He then ended his Clemson career with another year in which he led the ACC in rushing and was named to multiple First-Teams, rushing for 914 yards and 14 touchdowns and catching 48 passes for 588 yards and two touchdowns as a senior.
Etienne has taken reps at both running back and wide receiver during the Jaguars' offseason workouts, continuing the narrative Meyer has consistently pushed that Etienne will make a big impact in both the running and passing game.
“Coach informed me that the very next day after I got drafted. When I came out here, he brought me into a room, asked me how I felt about it, and I feel great about it," Etienne said after rookie minicamp.
"I feel like it’s going to help me maximize my opportunity, maximize my skillset, so I feel like Coach knows what he’s doing. He’s doing what’s best for the team and I feel like it’s going to work out really well.”
