Who Should I Start? Travis Etienne Jr. or J.K. Dobbins

Monday, June 2, 12:36 PM

With trade speculation surrounding Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. this offseason, new head coach Liam Coen had nothing but positive things to say about the 26-year-old former first-rounder. When asked about Etienne's performance at OTAs this offseason, Coen said "(Travis) has done everything we've asked him to do and more... I don't understand some of the stuff I've seen out there, that's absolutely inaccurate." The Jags took rookie Bayshul Tuten in the fourth round of April's NFL draft, and then a report surfaced in May that the team wasn't very high on Etienne, which in turn led to trade rumors. Etienne had a second straight down year in 2025, carrying the ball 150 times for 558 yards and two touchdowns in 15 games. Even if he sticks around in Jacksonville, Etienne's fantasy stock is down, and he could lose more work to Tuten and Tank Bigsby.

Wednesday, June 11, 12:52 PM

ESPN's Jeff Legwold writes that the Denver Broncos figure to give new running back J.K. Dobbins a long look in the third-down role ahead of Week 1 of the 2025 regular season. Dobbins has dealt with multiple injuries since being drafted in 2020, mainly knee and Achilles injuries, but he had career-highs in rushing yards (905), catches (32) and receiving yards (153) last year with the Los Angeles Chargers and tied his career best with nine rushing touchdowns. And that was with him missing four games in 2024 with an MCL sprain. Javonte Williams led the Broncos in carries (139) and rushing yards (513) last year, but he's now in Dallas. Second-round rookie RB RJ Harvey is the favorite for lead-back duties in 2025, but Dobbins (if healthy) could be a nice RB3/flex option for fantasy managers in PPR leagues if he captures the full-time third-down role.