Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne was given a 90 overall as his rating for Madden ’25 but to him, it’s just the starting point.
The running back spoke with media at the conclusion of the seventh day of training camp from the Miller Electric Center and detailed his feelings about the rating.
He recalled receiving a 78 as his rating during his rookie season and being "anxious" to raise it but getting injured during the preseason of his first year in the league. Then his second season he was the same rating since he missed the entire season with a Lisfranc injury.
Fast-forward two years down the road and he’s one of the highest-rated players at his position.
“It was a great feeling as a competitor,” he said. “[I’m] just wanting to continue to get better, continue to just do what I can do. Be the best player for myself and for the team.”
Etienne is coming off back-to-back 1,000 yards seasons and scored more than double the number of touchdowns he did in his first season playing.
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He’s settled into a leadership role within the team as the self-proclaimed “old head” in the running back room. And he’s expecting another strong season for himself.
“I’m expecting to have an unbelievable year,” he said with a smile. “I want to go out there and just be the best player that I can be for the team. Week-in and week-out, just being healthy. For me, health is wealth.”
Etienne dealt with injuries last season as the year progressed. He was the feature back for the Jaguars and played behind an offensive line that struggled to play well consistently.
He had a career-high 267 carries last season as the team relied on him heavily down the stretch. Still, Etienne did not miss a game while being banged up, a credit to his will.
But this season he’s hoping to make an impact in other ways than just his carries. He’s hoping to have a bigger impact on Jacksonville’s passing offense.
“I feel like [if] they kind of get me more involved here in the passing game, that's going to take my game to another level,” he said. “I've always been electric with the ball in my hand just handing it off. Just giving me the ball and the space, it's going to be so much more crucial because I feel like the first guy is never going to tackle me.”
There were instances where Etienne was a factor in the passing game last season like his 56-yard touchdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers last season.
He was lined up wide on the right side of the field with Calvin Ridley in the slot. Etienne ran a go-route, which caused confusion in Pittsburgh’s secondary and allowed him to break free to score.
Through the early days of camp, it does appear that Jacksonville’s offense will allow more freedom for running backs to impact the passing game. There have been times where a running back is matched up on a linebacker in space during team periods.
It’ll remain to be seen if those instances and plays will carry into the regular season, but there’s another factor at hand that will help the wear and tear on Etienne this season.
Tank Bigsby’s emergence will help Etienne, wants to be shoulder to lean on
An argument can be made that Tank Bigsby had the best on-field offseason of any Jaguar. The second year running back has performed with more confidence and grit this summer, a stark contrast to his rookie season marred by turnovers and lack of usage.
Bigsby was involved in multiple skirmishes on Wednesday including a quickly broken up disagreement with Travon Walker. It seems like he has more edge to him entering this season, but Etienne would describe it as something else.
“I wouldn’t say edge. I would say he's a lot more smooth,” he said of Bigsby. “He's a lot more confident. He's not as antsy as he was last year. I feel like you could just kind of tell he’s getting his swagger behind his pads. I love that for him, because he's going to be a vital part for us to be able to just be a great team.”
While Etienne was setting career numbers last season, Bigsby’s numbers paled in comparison. He recorded 50 carries for 132 yards and two touchdowns while scoring two touchdowns and appearing in all 17 games.
His running back coach talked about his growth this offseason and Etienne sees the same so far.
“Anytime you can have two guys out there just being who they are as players, that's really great for the team,” he said. “I just think about [Detroit Lions RB] Jahmyr Gibbs, [Lions RB] David Montgomery. Both guys in the same system going over 1,000 yards and I feel like, why can't that be us? I feel like it's only going to help the team be so much better.”
Another thing that will help Bigsby and other younger running backs is the emergence of Etienne’s leadership. He was referred to as the “Alpha Dog” in the offseason by running back’s coach Jerry Mack because of the way he handles himself.
That leadership extends beyond the football field, though. And for Etienne, it might be more important than what happens on the field.
“I’ve got a lot of experience under my belt. Just being there for them whenever they have questions, whenever they need something,” Etienne said. “Just reaching out and seeing how they're feeling outside of football, and just checking on them.
"Just make sure they're mentally right because this is a very physical sport, and I feel like if you don’t have your mental together, it don't matter. You won't be who you are as a person.”
Jaguars’ offense installing ‘bread-and-butter’ early in camp
The first few days of training camp didn’t exactly provide spectators with the dazzling offensive plays as last season. But in recent days, Jacksonville’s offense has performed much better.
Wide receiver Christian Kirk provided some insight on why that was.
“I think right now the emphasis has been more on the shorter and intermediate passes, especially early on,” he said. “We're really just getting our base, kind of bread-and-butter plays going. Then as camp kind of goes on and we evolve.”
Kirk explained even further, saying that because the team was not yet in pads it made it more difficult for pass protection.
With the team having padded practices for the last two days the offense has opened up more.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence has found a rhythm as receivers are able to run longer-developing routes. And with the foundation laid, the team can progress to a more complete look at the new offense.
“As receivers, we're definitely excited to get to that point where we can start pushing the ball down the field and that's been an emphasis from Press [Offensive Coordinator Press Taylor] as well, because we're going to be a lot more aggressive when it comes to calling those plays this year.”
Juston Lewis is a Jacksonville Jaguars beat reporterfor the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on the website formerly known as Twitter at@JustonLewis_.
