James Robinson

New Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer told reporters after the first-round selection of Clemson RB Travis Etienne on Thursday that he expects James Robinson and Carlos Hyde to be the “1-2 punch” with Etienne operating as the third-down back.

Fantasy Impact

It’s hard to imagine the Jaguars drafted Etienne only to be utilized on third downs, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility he’s utilized in such a way his rookie season with two capable running backs in Robinson and Hyde operating on first and second downs. As for Robinson, it looks like his role is going to decrease from a season ago. He averaged 17.1 carries and 4.3 targets per game his rookie season. With Hyde and Etienne both now in town, expect those numbers to take a significant hit. What the exact split looks like is yet to be seen, but Robinson is now looking more like a low-end RB2 at best after the Jaguars spent a first round pick on Etienne.

Jaguars GM Trent Baalke is looking to add to his RB corps this offseason.

Fantasy Impact

"We have to add some explosive to that room as well and we have to be able to take some of the carries off of James," Baalke said. "You can only ride a horse so long." The magic of Robinson's rookie season for fantasy purposes was that he never came off the field last year. Therefore, Baalke's comments throw some cold water on Robinson's value entering his sophomore campaign. Best viewed as an RB2 for now, we'll simply have to see what Jacksonville does to address the position this offseason.

Jaguars coach Doug Morrone says RB James Robinson (ankle) won’t play in Week 17 against the Colts.

Fantasy Impact

This was to be expected as Jacksonville has nothing to play for and won’t want to risk further injury to Robinson. The undrafted free agent turned out to be one of the best rookies in football this year, especially for fantasy purposes. His 2021 value hinges on how much competition the team brings in over the offseason, but expect Robinson to be an early-round selection in early drafts.

Jaguars RB James Robinson (ankle) will not play in Week 16 vs. the Bears after not practicing all week.

Fantasy Impact

The most impactful rookie RB over the entire course of the season will now miss most people’s fantasy championship in Week 16 due to an ankle injury. In his absence, Dare Ogunbowale and Devine Ozigbo should split the work out of the backfield for the Jaguars. Ogunbowale has been seeing more snaps throughout the season as Ozigbo has been inactive most of the games. It’s hard to trust either back as anything more than a desperation dart throw.

Jaguars RB James Robinson (ankle) remained sidelined from Friday's practice.

Fantasy Impact

The Jaguars are listening Robinson as questionable for Week 16 against the Bears. The 22-year-old rookie suffered the ankle injury late in Week 15 and wasn't expected to practice this week. His playing status is truly up in the air as of now, so fantasy managers might want to start coming up with a backup plan.