Travis Etienne - 2025 Fantasy Football Sleepers and Undervalued Draft Picks

Travis Etienne is a fantasy football sleeper undervalued draft pick for 2025. Read the fantasy football outlook and draft advice for the Jacksonville Jaguars running back.

RotoBaller Ranking (half-PPR): RB35

Fantasy Draft Analysis: Throughout the offseason, I have been a very vocal Travis Etienne Jr. critic. Even though the Jaguars traded up to acquire Travis Hunter in the 2025 NFL Draft, the team was supposedly ready to draft running back Ashton Jeanty if it was unable to land Hunter.

It was also reported that Jacksonville was ready to select RJ Harvey before the Denver Broncos beat it to the punch. The Jaguars would then draft Bhayshul Tuten in the fourth round of the NFL Draft, and the new regime is reportedly quite bullish on him.

Etienne is also coming off a poor 2024 season where fellow back Tank Bigsby outplayed him. This all sounded like bad news for Etienne. However, recent comments from head coach Liam Coen suggest Etienne might be in a better spot with the new staff than initially thought, and have me questioning my original stance.

#Jaguars HC Liam Coen on Travis Etienne:

"He's done everything we've asked him to do, and more. There's been a consistency. He can shine in ways in space… He’s done a great job. I don’t really understand some of the stuff I’ve kind of seen out there. That’s absolutely… pic.twitter.com/31HoOBWrH2

— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) June 2, 2025

Etienne has his flaws, but he does have an RB3 finish in 2023 to his name. While Jacksonville may have initially wanted to replace Etienne, it’s possible it watched a few days of practice and has concluded that Etienne is the best option.

If that is the case and Etienne will be Coen’s RB1, then it makes him an ideal Zero RB candidate this year. Even still, this is a very difficult backfield to project, and drafting Etienne does carry risk even at a reduced price. It might behoove gamers to also select Bigsby or Tuten a few rounds after Etienne, just to cover themselves in the event he struggles again and is overtaken as the starter.

- Dave Ventresca

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