Fantasy Football draft season is upon us! It’s officially time to debate some fantasy football ADP. Which player should you draft this season? Travis Etienne or Devon Achane?
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Travis Etienne – Chris O’Brien
Etienne has everything you look for in an elite fantasy running back. He’s a talented workhorse in a good offense who catches passes, scores touchdowns, and is the goal-line back. His 2023 campaign consisted of 325 touches, 73 targets, 12 total touchdowns, and an RB3 finish. Etienne’s efficiency as a runner plummeted, going from 5.1 yards per carry in 2022 to just 3.8 in 2023. This was likely because the Jaguars offensive line was atrocious as a run-blocking unit. They ranked No. 31 according to Pro Football Focus with a run-blocking grade of 40.6. The Jaguars were one of just three teams under a score of 52.
PFF has the Jaguars’ o-line ranked as the No. 23-best unit headed into 2024. While this is not great, it would be a massive improvement on what they did in 2023. We know Etienne has big-pay ability and can be an efficient running back based on his 2022 season. His five runs of 30+ yards were the most of any RB in 2022. There’s no reason to think that his volume changes either as the depth chart is essentially the same as last year with little talent behind him. Etienne is a great value at his current fantasy football ADP.
Devon Achane – Bradley Stalder
There’s an old saying about looking a gift horse in the mouth. Achane is that gift horse– and a gift that will keep on giving in 2024.
Achane, a 2023 3rd round pick out of Texas A&M, stunned the NFL Combine with a 99th percentile 40-yard dash and an 88th percentile BMI adjusted speed score. The questions that surrounded Achane came down to this: Would his high level of efficiency translate to the NFL?
The answer in 2023 was a resounding “Yes.” Achane led all running backs in yards per touch, breakaway run rate, and production premium. He ranked No. 2 among all running backs in true yards per carry. For fantasy, his 1.35 fantasy points per opportunity also led the position. Achane did experience the physicality of playing the running back position and dealt with a shoulder sprain, knee sprain, toe soreness, and bruised ribs– but didn’t let that affect his in-game efficiency. These were not recurring injuries, and none were soft-tissue issues– eliminating the “injury prone” objection.
In fantasy football, the calculus is simple. You want the best players on the best offenses. Achane proved in 2023 that he could thrive even in limited work. Achane ranked as the RB5 overall in fantasy points per game despite only handling 130 touches. For reference, rookie year Alvin Kamara handled 201 touches and only finished as the RB4 overall.
My projections for Devon Achane: 14 games, 152 rushes, 789 rushing yards, 10 Rushing TDs, 46 receptions on 63 targets, 475 receiving yards, two receiving TDs. Achane is my RB5 and No. 16 overall player and a clear winner at his current fantasy football ADP.
For more articles from PlayerProfiler, click here – Fantasy Football ADP – Marvin Harrison Jr. or Drake London? (playerprofiler.com)
