Fantasy Football Player Notes

When a team drafts a running back in the first round, history suggests they're going to use him a ton. In fact, there's been just one running back drafted in the first round over the last eight years who hasn't touched the ball at least 197 times, and that was Rashaad Penny, who's continually injured (it was also a shock to hear his name in the first round). Etienne was a favorite of many in this draft class, and is now tied to an offense that has Trevor Lawrence at the helm rather than Gardner Minshew/Mike Glennon. The Jaguars have also been using him as a wide receiver in camp, which is never a bad thing. In PPR formats, targets are worth 2.5 times as much as carries. He'll share some work with James Robinson, but make no mistake about it, Etienne is the lead back with the most talent.

While Robinson was on the field last year, the Jaguars running backs combined for 332 touches. Robinson accounted for 289 of them, or 87.0 percent, a number that doesn't really exist in today's NFL. He averaged 4.46 yards per carry, 5.73 yards per target, and scored 10 total touchdowns, which is solid, though nothing special. Enter Urban Meyer, who said they wanted to add depth/competition at the running back position. After adding Carlos Hyde, you knew Robinson would lose some touches, but it wasn't that much of a concern. After drafting Travis Etienne in the first round, it's definitely a concern. Robinson would be lucky to earn a 50/40/10 split with Etienne and Hyde, with Robinson being the 40 of the group. If we knock Robinson's touches into the 10-12 per game territory, you're not going to be trusting him as anything more than a shaky flex option.