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Will Travis Etienne Jr. start for the New Orleans Saints when he returns? John Johnson breaks down the Travis Etienne Jr. return timeline and fantasy football outlook ahead of Week 7.
New Orleans Saints running back Travis Etienne Jr. (hamstring) got off to a very slow start to his 2026 season. Even before he was ruled out of Week 3 with a hamstring injury, he was hardly productive enough to justify his fantasy ADP.
Now, he's on injured reserve and will be required to miss at least two more weeks of NFL action. He has one game left in his required IR stint, and the Saints have a bye in Week 8. That'll at least give him more time to recover without potentially missing more games.
But he's looked like a shadow of his former self this season, and while he's been out, the other Saints running backs have had opportunities to make their case for more featured roles this season. So, will Etienne be the starter when he returns to action? Let's dive in.
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Will Travis Etienne Jr. Start For The New Orleans Saints When He Returns?
The biggest issue is that it's unclear if the Saints were actively managing his workload in the early weeks of the season. If they were, he should at least have a bigger role when he returns to full health.
If he wasn't getting much work because New Orleans wasn't impressed with his play, that's terrible news. New Orleans' run-blocking hasn't been spectacular, and the RBs haven't had a ton of room to run before being contacted so far this season.
Kendre Miller gets 6️⃣ on the board for the Saints!
@MINvsNO on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus https://t.co/OKgYHGtkYf— NFL (@NFL) October 11, 2026
Aside from a handful of touchdowns, every RB on the Saints roster who's had 20 or more carries this season has been wildly inefficient. RB Kendre Miller averaged just over 3.1 yards per carry, and longtime Saints RB Alvin Kamara sits at just 3.4 YPC.
Rookie undrafted free agent CJ Donaldson has fared better with nearly 4.8 yards per rush but has just 17 carries on the season. That's not enough of a sample size to draw great conclusions. And undrafted free agents rarely take on lead RB roles in any NFL backfield.
Alvin Kamara Landed Hard On His Hip And You Can Tell. He’s Definitely Injured After This.
It’s Been A Tough Year.
Not Good. 😬 https://t.co/TOONChwnNa
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) October 18, 2026
Kamara has also been dealing with a back injury. So, the backfield is a mess. Yet, Etienne had just 17 carries and nine catches over his first two games before the injury. His role seemed to expand in Week 3. That's the encouraging sign we'll look for.
My analysis leads to the assumption that he was dealing with some ailment early in the season, started to recover, then picked up his hamstring injury. Everything will depend on his health moving forward, but the fantasy outlook will assume he can get back to full health at some point.
Travis Etienne Jr. Fantasy Football Outlook
It's probably not as doom and gloom as it seems. He seemed to be playing injured early on, and the Saints have a fast-paced offense. He also saw nine targets in Week 1. The blocking isn't great, but he could at least become a solid RB2.
A hat trick for Travis Etienne!
NYJvsJAX on CBS/Paramount+
https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt https://t.co/bjm8wMhn8l— NFL (@NFL) December 14, 2025
He played well last season, though he was somewhat inefficient. And the PPR upside is there, so even when he's not doing great on the ground, he can often make it up by padding his stats with receptions. It's probably not time to give up on him yet.
He's an interesting buy-low candidate for now. Find a fantasy manager who's completely given up on him and see if you can get a good deal.
Who Should I Start Tool
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Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Week 7 fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Alvin Kamara, CJ Donaldson, Kendre Miller. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups in Week 7. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Week 7 of the 2026 NFL season. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
Week 7 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players -- Alvin Kamara, CJ Donaldson, Kendre Miller. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 7.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, player news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 7 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 7 (2026)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 7 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 7 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Alvin Kamara, CJ Donaldson, Kendre Miller compared to others:
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