Which Jaguar Is Looking For a Bounce Back in 2025?

The Jacksonville Jaguars ground game took a major hit when running back Travis Etienne's production decreased. The Jaguars will look for him to return to form in 2025.

Dec 29, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr (1) runs the ball against the Tennessee Titans in the third quarter at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images | Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars' ground game was near the bottom of the National Football League last season in terms of average rushing yards per game, and a large part of that was due to injuries and a down year from Travis Etienne.

Etienne was the Jaguar franchise's first round draft pick in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Clemson. In his first two seasons with the Jaguars, he recorded back to back 1,000 plus rushing yards, making him a strong asset for Jacksonville's offense.

Funny enough, the Jaguars improved their running game last season in the same department of average rushing yards per game, AND running back Tank Bigsby took a large portion of the carries last season over Etienne in his 16 games played.

For the sake of the offense's success going into the 2024-25 season, the Jaguars will need to make a giant effort to make their ground game important again. Last season, wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr was the star of the games more times than not, but that doesn't mean all the offensive action had to go through him.

Etienne concluded his third NFL season with 558 rushing yards in 150 carries. His 558 rushing yards ranked him 39th in the NFL among the rest of the running backs. Given his past success, there is a world where Etienne returns to form, he'll just need to prove it sooner rather than later.

According to PFF.com, Etienne earned an overall grade of 60.7, which lands him in the average category by PFF standards. His two touchdowns was a step in the wrong direction from what he was able to achieve a year prior, being 11 touchdowns.

If the Jaguars do decide to lean into the duo of Etienne and Bigsby once more for the 2025-26 campaign, the duo will need to find more success to bring the rushing game back to life. Underneath new head coach Liam Coen, the offense should be taking steps forward as a whole rather than back.

In his first season after all, Etienne hauled in the ninth most rushing yards that season, and 11th in year two. There is life in those legs, the Jaguars just have to re-figure out how to utilize them.

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