The Facts: As a first-round draft pick in 2021, Etienne suffered a foot injury in the preseason and didn’t play at all in the regular season. In 2022, Etienne ran for 1,125 yards. And in 2023, the Jaguars think Etienne is ready to do even more. Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said Etienne has learned a lot this offseason about the Jaguars’ offense and a running back’s role in it. “We’ve seen it this offseason; he’s progressed nicely there,” Pederson told Jaguars.com.

Diehards Line: Pederson continued: “Once we get the pads on and we start in our run periods, we’ll see how he’ll see the hole better. It just goes back to last year being kind of a rookie season for him. It’s like in the pass game: There’s a lot to learn, a lot to know and understand and, he’s really picked it up well. I’m excited for him for this year and what he can do, and even more to build off last year. ...” Jaguars running backs coach Bernie Parmalee was asked if there are more big plays in store for Etienne this year. “There’s a lot more – a lot more,” Parmalee said. “We talked about it every day. He knows it, too. It’s one thing when you talk about it as a coach and the player doesn’t realize it. But when the player realizes what you’re talking about is true and he’s going to do everything he has to do to make sure he gets better, it’s going to bode well. ...” As PFT notes, last year Etienne started the season behind James Robinson on the depth chart, but this year there’s no doubt that he’s the Jaguars’ No. 1 running back. And his coaches believe he’s in store for a big year.