First-year Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen loves what he’s seeing from Travis Etienne.
Etienne is enjoying a great start to the 2025 campaign. The former Clemson star running back has recorded two 120-plus-yard rushing efforts in the first four games of the season.
Through those four games, Etienne ranks third in the NFL with 394 rushing yards and is also third in the league with 98.5 rushing yards per game. He is averaging 6.1 yards per rush attempt on 65 carries and also has six catches for 32 yards and a receiving score.
Etienne has helped lead the Jaguars to a 3-1 record, and following their 26-21 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday — when Etienne ran for 124 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries — Coen talked about Etienne’s big day and what he is doing well so far this season.
“Right now, he’s got a really good feel for what we’re trying to do in the run game, I think,” Coen said. “Whether it’s in the zone or in the gap stuff, I just think Travis has a really good feel for what we’re trying to do. He’s pressing the line of scrimmage really well and able to go find creases. … Very pleased with Travis right now and the way that those guys are running.”
Etienne also met with the media after the victory over the 49ers and discussed what it is about Coen’s offense that has allowed him to be so successful early on.
“Just getting me the ball in space,” Etienne said. “Our offensive line is playing great. Guys are really bought in, and I feel like we just stick with the run throughout the game. I feel like we keep wearing guys down and we’re able to get me in space. Coen just has a great knack for how the game is going and just getting his playmakers the ball, and I feel like that’s why it’s been so good.”
Etienne’s big game Sunday included a 48-yard touchdown scamper, which came early in the second quarter and gave the Jags a 7-3 lead at the time – a lead they would never relinquish.
Etienne explained what happened on that scoring run and credited the job his offensive line and receivers did to block for him.
“The receivers did a great job of blocking the outside defenders,” he said. “The offensive line did a great job of setting it up, and I just followed my blockers, and they got me to the promised land. I’m appreciative of them, and I feel like if they keep blocking like that, I’m going to keep doing what I do.”
Etienne is now in the final year of his rookie contract after being selected by the Jaguars in the first round (25th overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft. He entered this season having rushed for 2,691 yards and 18 touchdowns on 637 carries, while catching 132 passes for 1,046 yards and another score, over the first three seasons of his pro career.
Etienne played in 15 games last season, when he had 150 carries for 558 yards and two touchdowns. Prior to the 2024 campaign, he rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of his first two NFL seasons in 2022 and 2023, after missing his entire 2021 rookie campaign due to a season-ending Lisfranc injury he suffered in that preseason.
–Photo courtesy of Kyle Terada-Imagn Images