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| Position: RB | Weight: 215 |
| College: Clemson | Age: 22 |
| Height: 5′ 10″ | 247 Rating: 4 Stars (0.9171) |
By: Nate Christian (@NateNFL)
The Rundown:
One of the top running backs in last year’s draft class until he decided to go back to college, Travis Etienne’s draft stock is a bit more varied this year. Some will still have him as their RB1 or RB2 in the class, but a less-than-stellar season has many pointing out his flaws and dropping him below the new and exciting running backs. Is Etienne being overanalyzed as a prospect or is he actually not as elite of a prospect as some once thought?
College Production:
Travis Etienne leaves college football as one of the most productive running backs of all time. Over the course of his four year career he amassed almost 5,000 rushing yards, scored 78 total touchdowns, and caught over 100 passes. In 2018 and 2019, Etienne hit over 1,600 rushing yards each season while averaging nearly eight yards per carry. He stayed in college an extra year though, and in 2020 didn’t even hit 1,000 yards and his average fell to 5.4 YpC. Despite worsened rushing numbers, Etienne has a career-high in receptions during the 2020 season with 48 catches for 588 yards. At the end of the day, Etienne was a highly-productive running back and brings a lot of versatility to any NFL offense.
Strengths:
- 0-60 in 2 Seconds
- “Burst-y”, that’s a great adjective for Etienne’s prospect profile. He has some of the best acceleration in the class and it’s the reason that some are comparing him to Chris Johnson. Etienne’s ability to take plays past the second level and to the house give him the “Game Changer” factor that many teams are looking for, and the highlight tape is riddled with the results. There is probably no running back in the class with a better burst past the line of scrimmage, and his ability to keep that speed up and finish runs brings in big numbers.
- Contact Balance
- Despite his rather average size, Etienne’s ability to stay up after contact leans on ridiculous at times. His balance and ability to put his hand on the ground and then continue running is very impressive, there are many plays where he should have been down 5-10 yards earlier than when he was finally tackled. And don’t mistake Etienne for being small, he still does well to fall forward and keep his legs moving after contact.
- Homerun? Grand Slam.
- Let me quote PFF, “back in 2018, he [Etienne] recorded 23 runs that resulted in a 20-plus yard gains, which is still the fifth-most in a single season since 2014, and no running back recorded a higher rate of runs resulting in a 10-plus yard gain this past year [2019] than Etienne at 22.7%”. It’s this big-play ability that is going to have a couple teams absolutely in love with Etienne’s skillset. He’s electric, he’s a playmaker, he’s a guy that can absolutely change a game at any time. He’s going to be very exciting to watch.
Weaknesses:
- Tunnel Vision
- Perhaps the biggest knock on Etienne is his lack of elite vision. Some of the other running backs are able to manipulate linebackers and open up holes with their patience and field vision, but Etienne tends to, more often than comfortable, run in a straight line, no matter what. He gets tunnel vision and tries to beat his man to the edge, but if he loses the battle he just takes the loss. He’s not constantly making defenders miss and turning up the field, something he has more than enough athleticism to do on a consistent basis. The vision issues might improve at the next level and never be an issue, but I have to admit I am slightly worried about it moving forward.
- Moving the Pile
- While not a large part of Etienne’s game and play style, the power of a bigger back is certainly missing. Etienne does well to keep his legs moving, and often falls forward, but overall he isn’t going to run anybody over. That’s okay because the defenders are usually playing catch-up, but at the next level where the defenders are bigger and faster, will Etienne be able to break as many tackles? Will he be able to fall forward against linebackers? Or will he be stonewalled when attacking the middle of the field?
- Pass Protection
- This is an area most rookie running backs have to improve in as soon as they reach the NFL, but for Etienne it is especially important because he will likely be heavily involved during passing downs early on. Sometimes rookies struggle to get on the field because they can’t protect their quarterback, Etienne needs to improve his average pass protection so he can get on the field early and often and start making an impact for whatever team drafted him.
Things to Watch:
Etienne has already had his Pro Day, where he ran a 4.41 40-Yard Dash after weighing in at 215 pounds. These are impressive numbers, as he weighed in about 10 pounds heavier than some expected while still putting up a great time, no doubts should be cast about his athleticism or his ability to be a factor on all three downs. Whether or not Etienne will actually play at 215 is a question for a different day, but even at 205 or 210 he still has the frame to handle a full workload.
Projected Round/Contract:
Etienne is currently the Vegas favorite to be first running back off the board, but I wouldn’t be so sure of that. I expect Najee Harris to be the first running back drafted, and Etienne to follow pretty closely. There’s a chance that Etienne is picked up by a team in the second half of the first round, but I find it more likely that he is drafted in the early parts of the 2nd round. D’Andre Swift ($1,940,662) was drafted at #35 overall and signed a 4-year deal worth $8,538,914, Etienne will likely be looking at a similar contract, which, with the upside that he provides, will be a great value.
Team Fits:
There are two teams that stick more than any other for me when discussing possible landing spots for Etienne. There may be no better scenario for Etienne to find himself in than being drafted by the Arizona Cardinals with the 49th pick (or the 16th). Kliff Kingsbury’s fast-paced spread offense would be perfect for Etienne, between the elite-tier athleticism and the pass-catching upside the fantasy implications could be massive. Kenyan Drake is a free agent and despite the coach’s talk that Chase Edmonds ($1,033,092) could be the lead back, I wouldn’t expect him to just have the role handed to him. Kyler Murray ($9,763,721) and Etienne would be a dangerous combination in the backfield.
Another team that offers a lot of excitement for fantasy owners, and just about any running back in the draft, are the San Francisco 49ers. It’s easy to point out any running back and say that the 49ers would be a good fit, because it’s true. The Kyle Shanahan offense seems to just spit out fantasy-relevant players and adding a highly-touted rookie to the ranks would seem just about perfect. But not only are the 49ers a good fit for Etienne, I think that Etienne is a good fit for the 49ers. Shanahan loves athletic running backs who can use their acceleration to attack the second level, Etienne fits that perfectly. With the 43rd pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the 49ers could tie down a top running back, we’ll just have to see if the position means enough to them.
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