The Facts: HC Urban Meyer said Etienne got most of his work in at receiver today. While the team knows he can excel at running back, the “best case scenario” is the first-round pick can be a player that excels at both.
Diehards Line:
Of course, as Profootballtalk.com's Michael David Smith notes, there’s no guarantee that Etienne is going to prove to be elite in the NFL, either as a runner or a receiver. And it’s valid to ask why the Jaguars didn’t just draft a wide receiver if they wanted a wide receiver, instead of drafting a running back and playing him at wide receiver. (Meyer has admitted the player he really wanted to draft was wide receiver Kadarius Toney, whom the Giants selected.) But the Jaguars have an abundance of running backs, with last year’s impressive undrafted rookie James Robinson and this year’s free agent signing Carlos Hyde. Etienne’s best bet for contributing as a rookie may be to play wide receiver.