Is Travis Etienne A Prime 2025 Fantasy Football Bust?
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Travis Etienne enters the 2025 fantasy football season looking to rebound from a frustrating, touchdown-less second half in 2024. With a new coaching staff and more backfield depth, fantasy managers must decide if Etienne still holds RB1 upside—or if it's time to move on.
Travis Etienne, Jacksonville Jaguars
James Robinson out-snapped Etienne 175 to 159 over the first five weeks of 2022. Over this stretch, Robinson scored five times, while Etienne didn’t reach paydirt until his seventh game. He gained over 100 rushing yards from Week 7 to Week 9 (14/114/1, 24/156/1, and 28/109/2), but Etienne only had six combined catches for 51 yards over this span.
After an early exit in Week 12 (2/3 on five snaps), Jacksonville gave him only 16.75 touches per game over his final eight starts (including the postseason), leading to 712 combined yards with two touchdowns and 17 catches. Etienne ended the season ranked 17th in running back scoring (208.10) in PPR leagues, but he failed to be a difference-maker late in the year.
In 2023, the Jaguars gave their star running back 325 touches, leading to 1,484 combined yards, 12 touchdowns, and 58 catches (third-highest-scoring running back). Unfortunately, he gained only 3.8 yards per rush (1.3 yards fewer than in 2022). Etienne rushed for over 100 yards in only two matchups (26/136/2 and 16/102/2) and fewer than 60 yards in 12 contests. Jacksonville had him on the field for 73.4% of their snaps.
At no point last season did Etienne showcase RB1 explosiveness, highlighted by his weakness in yards per rush (3.7) and yards per catch (6.5). The Jaguars gave him 57 touches over their first four games, leading to 264 combined yards with two touchdowns and 10 catches or 12.05 FPPG. After a quiet game (60 yards with six catches), he left Week 6 with a hamstring injury, costing Etienne two weeks.
His season ended with no touchdowns over his final 13 matchups, with empty stats over his final nine games (94/328 with 23 catches for 163 yards).
Travis Etienne Fantasy Football Outlook
The fantasy market has to debate if Etienne falls into last year’s bum category or gets a reprieve, thanks to a new coaching staff. Tank Bigsby outplayed him in the run game, and Jacksonville added a third wheel at running back in this year’s draft. This season, Etienne is a coin flip with Bigsby as the first Jaguars’ running back selected. I chased him around enough, so I’m fading him unless he falls into the 12-round in fantasy drafts.
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With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.
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