Travis Etienne Jr. and Alvin Kamara are poised to give the New Orleans Saints their best rushing attack in years, and Saints reporter Erin Summers gave a clear set of expectations for the free agent acquisition. One thing Summers highlighted was Etienne's role as a receiver.
The Saints haven't had an 1000 yard rusher in nearly a decade. They're way overdue for another one, and Etienne has done that 3 of his four years in the league. In addition to that, he may also have a role in the passing game that many fans are overlooking.
“Travis Etienne is the No. 1 back in New Orleans right now.” 😤@ErinESummers breaks down what to expect from the Saints RB room heading into this season.
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 21, 2026
(via Yahoo Sports Daily) pic.twitter.com/GQ8VhyOyX4
Travis Etienne Jr. will give the Saints some juice in the passing game too
The story around Etienne is his ability to run the football. I mean, he's a running back, so that shouldn't be too much of a surprise. It'd be an issue if fans weren't excited about their new lead back's ability to run the ball.
However, there's been so much attention paid to Etienne's rushing resume that his ability to catch the ball hasn't been highlighted. As Summers highlighted, he had six receiving touchdowns a year ago after just one in his entire career.
The touchdown number surged, but Etienne's been a consistently productive receiving threat yardage-wise his whole career. No one will confuse him with the best pass catching backs, but he has shown the ability to be an option. That's all the Saints need from him.
One of the biggest reasons to be excited about the duo of Etienne and Kamara is because their usage won't be a tell for defenses. Kamara is better known for his receiving ability than Etienne, but defenses won't be able to assume it's a run or that Etienne is just a blocker in passing situations.
It's also not a situation where every time Etienne leaves the game it's a pass play. Opposing defenses have to be ready for anything at all time. The explosiveness Etienne brings to the game also translates to the passing game.
Getting their new running back in space should be a huge priority. With all of the talent in the Saints receiving corps and tight end room, there could be a lot of room underneath as defenses prioritize stopping the big play.
Maybe we'll even see screen passes return as a bigger part of the offense. Anything to get Etienne in space should be a strong usage of his greatest strength.
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