Formats for playoff competitions vary, but I like the look of Travis Etienne. I like the team, and I like the way they use him.
In some postseason contests, it makes sense to look for the teams that might play in four games. The Jaguars look like one of those kind of teams. They won Denver a few weeks ago.
I’m not a big fan of the Broncos, who don’t look as strong as a typical No. 1 seed. The Jaguars beat them at Mile High a few weeks ago. And the Patriots played an awfully easy schedule. Jaguars, I’m thinking, are right there with those teams.
Back in October, Jacksonville lost back-to-back games against the Seahawks and Rams, but they’re 9-1 in their last 10, averaging 33 points in those games. I wish there were a couple more notable games in that run. (Just three big-time games in there, by my count, since Daniel Jones got hurt early during the showdown against the Colts – the win at Denver, a dismantling of the Chargers, and a game they gave away in Houston).
The Jaguars have a below-average offensive line, which torpedoed their chances in their loss against Seattle. But they seem to have found something, and they’ve got the receiver situation figured out, with Jakobi Meyers adding something and Parker Washington emerging.
As for Etienne, he’s averaged 65 rushing and 17 receiving yards, with 13 touchdowns. The Jaguars use Trevor Lawrence a lot on runs around the goal line; Lawrence actually ran for more touchdowns in the regular season (9) than Jalen Hurts. That’s less than ideal for Etienne’s value.
But on the plus side, Etienne tends to show up as a pass catcher in the red zone. He’s caught 6 TDs. I think that can be attributed to Liam Coen’s play calling. He’s knows how to dial up those plays. When Coen was with the Bucs last year, Rachaad White similarly caught 6 TDs.
Over the past two years, Coen’s offenses have completed 15 touchdown passes to running backs (7 last year, 8 this year), more than any other team.
Only four running backs in the least two seasons have caught 6-plus touchdowns in a season, and Coen has half of them.
| RUNNING BACKS WITH 5 TD CATCHES (last 5 yrs) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | No | Yards | Avg | TD |
| 2022 | Jerick McKinnon, K.C. | 56 | 512 | 9.1 | 9 |
| 2021 | Austin Ekeler, LAC | 70 | 647 | 9.2 | 8 |
| 2025 | Christian McCaffrey, S.F. | 102 | 924 | 9.1 | 7 |
| 2023 | Christian McCaffrey, S.F. | 67 | 564 | 8.4 | 7 |
| 2024 | DeVon Achane, Mia. | 78 | 592 | 7.6 | 6 |
| 2021 | Aaron Jones, G.B. | 52 | 391 | 7.5 | 6 |
| 2024 | Rachaad White, T.B. | 51 | 393 | 7.7 | 6 |
| 2025 | Travis Etienne, Jac. | 36 | 292 | 8.1 | 6 |
| 2022 | Austin Ekeler, LAC | 107 | 722 | 6.7 | 5 |
| 2022 | Christian McCaffrey, Car.-S.F. | 85 | 741 | 8.7 | 5 |
| 2025 | Jahmyr Gibbs, Det. | 77 | 616 | 8.0 | 5 |
| 2025 | Chase Brown, Cin. | 69 | 437 | 6.3 | 5 |
| 2022 | Aaron Jones, G.B. | 59 | 395 | 6.7 | 5 |
| 2025 | Ashton Jeanty, L.V. | 55 | 346 | 6.3 | 5 |
| 2021 | Cordarrelle Patterson, Atl. | 52 | 548 | 10.5 | 5 |
| 2021 | Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 47 | 439 | 9.3 | 5 |
| 2025 | RJ Harvey, Den. | 47 | 356 | 7.6 | 5 |
| 2023 | Jerome Ford, Cle. | 44 | 319 | 7.3 | 5 |
—Ian Allan