2:33pm: Etienne’s injury Monday night will knock him out for the season. The Jaguars placed the Clemson product on injured reserve. While the NFL is again allowing players to return from IR after three weeks, that only applies after the season begins. Due to landing on IR now, Etienne cannot play for the Jags until 2022. This certainly marks a brutal blow for a player who was on the 2020 first-round radar but opted to return for his senior season.
Jacksonville has the depth to withstand this blow, but after surprisingly selecting Etienne in Round 1, the team is now down a key asset that stood to help Trevor Lawrence. Etienne and Lawrence starred together at the ACC powerhouse for the past three years. Etienne’s four-year, $12.898MM rookie contract is fully guaranteed.
1:31pm: Jaguars first-round running back Travis Etienne has been diagnosed with a serious Lisfranc injury that will sideline him for several months (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Doctors will monitor his progress from here, but the injury is a potential season ender. 
The injury forced him out of Monday night’s preseason loss to the Saints. At minimum, doctors say Etienne will be out for 12 weeks following surgery. Considered a top prospect in the 2020 class, the Clemson product surprised many by returning for his senior season. His yards-per-carry figure dropped from 7.8 to 5.4, which probably helped the Jaguars secure him at No. 25 overall.
Despite the dropoff, the Jags were excited to add him given his upside, 1,600-yard seasons (2x), and 70 career rushing TDs. Even though he was outshined by Alabama’s Najee Harris last year, he’s a solid prospect in his own right. Some scouts say that Etienne even improved in certain parts of the game, like receiving and pass blocking.
Fortunately, the Jaguars are still well equipped at RB with rising star James Robinson and veteran Carlos Hyde leading the way. They also plan to deploy him him at WR occasionally when he returns, but they’ve got D.J. Chark, Marvin Jones, and Laviska Shenault to hold down the fort in the interim.
Stop. Drafting. RBs. In. Round. One.
Anybody playing any position can get hurt at any time, so not sure what your point is?
It’s the most volatile position on the field and the easiest to replace. Run CMC might be the only good RB picked in round one in the past 10 years. There’s so much track record of it not working yet teams still do it.
Largely agree but there’s a big difference between grabbing one Top 20 vs picks 25-32.
Depends on the player, who else is available and what else the team needs. Lot of holes? Don’t take a RB. Contender caliber roster with biggest hole at RB? Don’t overthink it.
That being said, Steelers pick of Harris was somewhat questionable And Jags taking Etienne seemed silly…especially considering the year J. Robinson had.
Eh, if you need a RB why not take the best one available? Every year teams draft someone too high, regardless of position, because they have the need. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. But I’d always rather have the best player available in a position of need.
If you’re the Giants would you still take Barkley in a redraft? Colts taking T-Rich again? I’m not even sure the Cowboys would take Zeke again that high.
Taking a RB that is going to get pounded that much (and could still bust) when there are usually studs at positions you get 2nd and even 3rd contracts out of available is just tough to swallow. Makes even tougher to swallow if your team has other holes. Very few RBs can carry a team full of holes.
It has much less to do with the player’s talent than it does the shelf-life.
Richardson was drafted by the Browns and traded to the Colts
Oh geeze had that backwards in my head. Shows how memorable he was!
On a Browns team that had Putrid Pat Shurmur as their coach and should have had Thaddeus Lewis as the Starting QB over that Rookie Geezer Brandon Weeden. The 29 yr old Rookie Starting QB. When they could have had Russell Wilson. 2012 would be an interesting redraft. That was not a great RB draft. The three best guys ended up being Alfred Morris, Lamar Miller, and Doug Martin.
To his point, in 2016 the cowboys drafted zeke 4th overall. Other teams passed on zeke to take goff, wentz and joey bosa. Jalen Ramsey and Deforest Buckner went right after zeke. In the 2nd round Derrick Henry was available at the cowboys pick and went a couple spots after that because cowboys already got their RB.
In 2018 the Giants took Barkley instead of Denzel Ward, Bradley Chubb, Quenton Nelson, Roquan Smith or Minkah Fitzpatrick (Josh Allen also went just a few picks after). In the 2nd round the Giants could have drafted Nick Chubb but they already had their RB. Chubb went the very next pick
Hindsight is obviously 20-20, but yeah, Top 5 I’m taking the hopefully 10-year all pro over the RB.
Fournette at 4 is another example. JAX passed on the likes of Jamal Adams, Jonathan Allen, Mahomes, Watson, Derek Barnett, Marlon Humphrey, etc meanwhile Dalvin Cook, Joe Mixon, and Kamara were all on the board for their 2nd Rd pick.
Go look at all the good players the Browns passed on since they came back in 1999. Guys far better then the Stiffs they usually drafted. We think Deshone Kizer is better then Deshaun Watson!!!!! Its laughable. They traded back then traded up a spot to draft a KR in the 1st Round. Justin Gilbert. They had Fools that screwed up the team so bad in the Front office such as Ray Farmer and Sashi Brown. I think the Jags actually interviewed Ray Farmer for their GM job in the offseason. The Bears Passed on Mahomes, and Watson taking Mitch Trubisky. With the RB too many teams pass too much to use the RB they draft Correctly. there are guys worthy of top 5 picks Derrick Henry. Emmitt Smith, I would say Nick Chubb, Jim Brown. with your logic you would have passed on Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, That Tomlinson guy, Dickerson, Dorsett, Bad scouting leads to bad picks. whether it is a QB, a RB, a WR, an Offensive linemen. Or a defensive player. The Cowboys problem is not Zeke. The Cowboys problem is They pass the ball way too much. It got Prescott hurt and should have gotten Kellen Moore Fired.
The problem with the 2018 Giants just like the 2012 Browns. They had Putrid Pat Shurmur as their Pass Happy Head Coach. You need more then one RB and you should not run one RB into the Ground. Shurmur has only had a balanced offense once in his career. That was 2017 every other year his teams were pass happy. That is why his Record as a Real offensive Coordinator and Head Coach is so bad. Plus I do not buy in to all this Buddy Buddy BS between Odell and Barkley. There is video of Odell on the sideline showing very bad Body language after a long run by Barkley. Plus Shurmur kept yelling at his QB to force the ball to Odell instead of Riding Barkley for a possible win. He stopped running the ball in many games one of which his team was up 19-3 and then 19-11. Barkley had over 100 yards at the half then the team ran it only 4 times in the 2nd half. Losing to the Eagles.
Totally agree!!!!!
I think it makes more sense in round one than round 2-3.
Round one picks get a 5th year option.
So a team like the chiefs to pick a running back at the 32 pick will have a young back for 5 years before paying big money.
A team like eagles picked Miles Sanders in the second round and have to worry already about paying him because they only have him for 4 years.
There are relatively few RBs who make it through the full five years, and you can always tag them one or two more times, if needed.
or, be like Jerry “Gloryhole” Jones and rush to extend Zeke 2 years before his rookie contract was up?
I agree. Fresh legs are key. Replace every few years.
thank god i didn’t draft him
James Robsinson just became my fantasy sleep pick again. Won me my championship last year as a last round pick up. Gonna help me win it all again!
He’s not much of a sleep pick
They did not give him the ball enough last yr.
That is why they were 1-15.
After week 1 they tanked for Martina Lawrence.
he looks like Martina Navratolova.
I miss the old way of doing fantasy.
Instead of having head to head.
It was whoever had the most points at the end of the season won the money
and whoever finished 2nd won back the entry fee
which was 50 dollars.
Also in the Fantasy league I played in
a player had to get 50 total yards
to accumulate points that way.
Massively overused at Clemson….and stayed all 4 years. He already had a lot tread worn down on his tires to begin with.
Even before he got hurt the Jags blew this pick. Way more areas of need than a RB.
Seems like more guys get hurt now then they did years ago. Too many artificial surfaces. Too much year round training? To easy a Training camp. In the old days guys used Training camp to get into Football shape. Too many weird injuries that no one ever heard of. Guys missing games with Bruises, I just have Zero Respect for Joe Haden at the last minute he could not play because his finger hurt when he was with the Browns. Jack Youngblood played with a Broken leg, Larry Wilson with two broken arms, Ronnie Lott with an amputated tip of his finger. Walt Garrison with a broken Collarbone. You see it in all sports. I would have to say Hockey players are probably the toughest guys in team sports. I swear one of these days you are going to read in the paper or on an Injury report somewhere. DNP Hurt Feelings. Or Joe Haden will miss this weeks game because his feelings are hurt.
The Jags need to run the ball. I don’t think Urban should have hired Bevell as his OC he probably should have hired Brian Schotteinheimer in that role. Because other then maybe last yr with the Seahawks. Brian has played Marty Ball run the ball, use the play action game. He should be a head coach by now. If the Jags throw as much as they did last yr they are in for another 1-15 season.