In 2021, the Jaguars drafted Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne in the first round to help reshape their offense.
But only one of those two was able to play during the season, as Etienne suffered a season-ending foot injury during a preseason game.
Etienne is now healthy entering 2022 and the Jaguars’ new coaching staff apparently has significant plans for him. Etienne has been working at multiple spots along the offense and he recently said he’d like to emulate 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel to exploit different matchups.
Head coach Doug Pederson was asked on Monday how Etienne is progressing and replied, “Really well.”
“Gosh, it’s just exciting to get him out here and get him on the grass this whole offseason and really work with him,” Pederson said in his press conference. “He’s doing a great job handling a lot of information we’re throwing at the guys and putting him in different spots. [We’re] just seeing what he can do right now.”
As for moving him around to different places on the field, Pederson said, “It is fun. This is the time to do that stuff, to really experiment on both sides of the ball and just kind of see what the guys can do, and he’s one of those guys.”
Etienne was a strong running back throughout his time at Clemson, but he became more of a receiving threat in his last two seasons. He caught 37 passes for 432 yards and four touchdowns in 2019, giving him 2,046 yards from scrimmage. And in 2020, he had 48 catches for 588 yards with a pair of TDs in 12 games.
