ESPN Rankings: Jaguars' Travis Etienne Earns Honorable Mention Among RBs

It seems like Travis Etienne is primed for a bigger season than many people seem to imagine.

A year after Etienne rushed for over 1,000 yards in his first true NFL season, the former Clemson star and ACC record holder has been spotlighted by the Jaguars' staff as a player they expect to be even better in 2023. They aren't alone, either, with Etienne landing in the honorable mentions group of ESPN's list of this year's top-10 running backs.

"Etienne recovered from a lost rookie year to injury and showcased major splash-play ability. Etienne's four rushes of 40 or more yards tied Derrick Henry and Justin Fields for a league high. He finished with 1,125 yards, which ranked ninth," ESPN said. "Good back, good speed, was getting healthy -- might have a breakout year," a veteran NFL scout said. "Not a physical back but can do enough."

Etienne finished the regular season with 1,441 yards from scrimmage and 5 rushing touchdowns. In the postseason, his 121 yards from scrimmage vs. the Chargers helped lead a historic 27-point comeback—the largest comeback in NFL history for a team that didn’t produce a turnover on defenses.

Etienne became the fourth running back in franchise history to record at least 1,000 rushing yards in his first 15 career games. Through Jaguars players’ first 17 games, Etienne Jr. is fourth in rushing yards. Etienne’s 5.1 yards per carry were fourth among all running backs in the NFL in 2022.

Etienne is the second Jaguar to land in the honorable mentions column, joining linebacker Foyesade Oluokun. Tight end Evan Engram was listed as the No. 8 tight end and cornerback Tyson Campbell received some top-10 votes, while the Jaguars had no players listed for defensive line, EDGE, or safety.

"As part of ESPN's 2023 NFL season preview, we surveyed league executives, coaches, scouts and players to help us rank the top 10 players at 11 different positions," ESPN said.

"By way of refresher, here's how our process works: Voters give us their best 10 players at a position, then we compile the results and rank candidates based on number of top-10 votes, composite average, along with dozens of interviews, research and film-study help from ESPN NFL analyst Matt Bowen. In total, more than 80 voters submitted a ballot on at least one position, and in many cases all positions. We had several ties, so we broke them with the help of additional voting and follow-up calls with those surveyed."