ESPN’s latest running back rankings may not settle the Jaguars’ offseason debate, but they do give Jacksonville some cover in the Travis Etienne discussion.
The criticism around the Jaguars has been loud all spring. Analysts have hammered the team for a quiet free-agency stretch that brought in only Washington Commanders running back Chris Rodriguez in the early waves, and for letting two notable players go in linebacker Devin Lloyd and Etienne. Of those departures, Etienne has drawn the most attention, with plenty of pushback aimed at Jacksonville for not doing more to fill the void.
That reaction makes sense on the surface. Etienne’s Jaguars run had its peaks and valleys.
His rookie year in 2021 never got off the ground because of injury, but he bounced back in 2022 with more than 1,000 rushing yards. He did it again in 2023, then saw his production dip in 2024.
Under head coach Liam Coen in 2025, though, he found his footing again, finishing with over 1,100 rushing yards, 341 receiving yards and 14 total touchdowns.
Still, ESPN’s annual position rankings suggest the league may not view Etienne as one of the game’s elite backs. The network polled league executives, coaches and scouts for its rankings of 11 positions, starting with running backs.
The result: a top 10 and three honorable mentions. Etienne didn’t make either group, though he did receive votes and was one of seven backs to do so.
That matters because it softens the idea that Jacksonville lost an irreplaceable player. ESPN’s Seth Walder noted that Etienne finished 2025 just 44 yards over expected, a detail that adds another layer to the argument that the outside reaction to his departure may have been a little too dramatic.
None of that erases what Etienne gave the Jaguars. He was productive, and he mattered in that offense.
But the rankings also support a different reading of Jacksonville’s plan at running back: the team is not trying to swap out a consensus top-10 star for one player. It’s trying to replace his production with a group.
That group includes Rodriguez, Bhayshul Tuten and LeQuint Allen, all of whom are still early in their NFL journeys. Rodriguez is the most experienced of the three, and he still has fewer than 200 career rushing attempts. The Jaguars clearly believe there’s room for each back to grow into a bigger role.
So the real question isn’t whether Jacksonville found a single Etienne clone. It’s whether the committee approach can add up to enough. And based on how the league ranked running backs, the Jaguars’ bet at the position looks a lot less reckless than the offseason chatter has made it sound.
In Other News...
Jaguars Send 3 Pass Rushers To Sack Summit With NFL Elite
The Jaguars are sending three of their top pass rushers to the 2024 Sack Summit from July 9-11, a gathering for NFL edge defenders hosted by Maxx Crosby, Cameron Jordan and Von Miller. Josh Hines-Allen, Travon Walker and Arik Armstead will be among the players in the room, giving Jacksonville a chance to keep its front-line pressure group around some of the leagues most established names while the offseason still has room to shape their next step.
For Hines-Allen, it is another marker of a season in which he was among the leagues most productive pressure players. Walker arrives with the momentum of a recent extension that underscored how strongly the Jaguars still believe in his trajectory, while Armstead enters with a different kind of motivation after a hand injury affected his late-season production. The summit does not answer every question about what Jacksonvilles pass rush will become, but it does put three important pieces of it in the same place at the same time. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Veteran Is Forcing A Tough Backfield Decision In Camp
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What makes Abdullah interesting is that his value is not limited to carries. He can help as a pass catcher and on special teams, which gives him a path to stick even as the Jaguars sort through their backfield mix. For a team that has to balance depth, roles and weekly game-day value, Abdullahs case is the kind that can make a late-summer decision tougher than it first looked. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Still Have One Huge Arik Armstead Question Up Front
Arik Armstead is still on the Jaguars roster as training camp opens, and for now that keeps one of the bigger questions up front from turning into an immediate roster move. The veteran defensive tackle is heading into the final year of his deal with a $19.385 million cap hit, and none of that money is guaranteed, which is why his status drew so much attention throughout the offseason.
Jacksonville weighed its options, but Armsteads presence on the defensive line still matters to a group that needs stability in the trenches. He also played through a hand injury late last season, and his production tailed off after a strong start, so the Jaguars are left balancing cost, health and value as they head deeper into camp with the decision still hanging over the front of the defense. [Read more 🡒]