Road to RB1: Travis Etienne

Following an RB3 finish across the board in 2023, Travis Etienne will look to break through as the positional leader in his third season.

Historically, the third year has been a key turning point in an NFL running back's career, often being the determining factor of how the player will see his career turn out. With two 1,000-yard seasons already under his belt, Etienne is primed for another step forward in his progression in 2024.

After missing all of 2021 due to injury, Etienne has not missed a game in his two active seasons. His unofficial rookie season was promising with 1,125 rushing yards in 2022 — finishing as the RB15 — but the former LSU Tiger took a leap in his second full season to finish as the third-best running back in both standard and PPR fantasy leagues behind only Christian McCaffrey and Raheem Mostert.

While his rushing yards and efficiency took a minor step back with 1,008 yards on 3.8 yards per carry, Etienne drastically improved his touchdown rate while simultaneously stepping up his involvement in the passing game. Following just five touchdowns in 2022, the 25-year-old reached the end zone 12 times the following year.

Turnovers were also a strong part of Etienne's value. After losing three fumbles in his rookie season, Etienne did not cough up the ball once in 2024.

In his fourth season with Jacksonville, Etienne will continue to play in the same system he has for his entire career under Doug Pederson and Press Taylor. Trevor Lawrence will also return under center after agreeing to a seven-year extension over the offseason.

How Travis Etienne can become the fantasy RB1

With the improvements he showed in 2023, Etienne is right on the brink of taking the reigns as the next fantasy RB1. Particularly with the two running backs who finished ahead of him last season expected to decline with their advanced ages, a solid argument can be made that Etienne is the favorite to lead the pack in 2024.

In his second season, volume was king, averaging over 15 carries and three receptions per game. His averages in both yards per carry and yards per catch took a dip but there is no reason the usage should go anywhere in 2024.

Jacksonville made an effort to address their lack of depth at wide receiver over the offseason but none of their additions were anything to write home about. The team drafted Brian Thomas Jr. in the first round and added Gabe Davis from Buffalo but on paper, Etienne is still their best offensive weapon.

The talk entering 2023 had rumors claiming that incoming rookie Tank Bigsby would push Etienne into a near time share. The chatter would quickly die off as Bigsby received double-digit carries just once all season and was almost entirely written out of the passing game with just four targets through 17 games.

Aside from Bigsby, no other player in the running back room will challenge Etienne for carries. The Jaguars will return D'Ernest Johnson for a second year with fifth-round rookie Keilan Robinson the only other name on the depth chart.

Dominating the snaps — a trend that will likely continue — is a key component of an RB1 season. Etienne finished with the sixth-highest snap share among running backs in 2023, being on the field for 73 percent of Jacksonville's offensive plays.

For as great as Etienne was in 2023, he still has obvious room for improvement, averaging just 3.8 yards per carry. His offensive line leaves a lot to be desired but the team revamped that area as well, bringing in Mitch Morse from Buffalo to address their issues at center.