![Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. (1) walks off the field after losing to the Bills during an NFL football AFC Wild Card playoff matchup, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. Bills lead 10-7 at the half over the Jaguars. The Bills defeated the Jaguars 27-24. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_277,y_24,w_2192,h_1233/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/15/01kvwz0f0dspedhk1cep.jpg "Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. (1) walks off the field after losing to the Bills during an NFL football AFC Wild Card playoff matchup, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. Bills lead 10-7 at the half over the Jaguars. The Bills defeated the Jaguars 27-24. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union]")
The New Orleans Saints are trying their best to build a deep menagerie of skill position players around young quarterback Tyler Shough in 2026, and their most impactful moves to furthering that end include drafting Jordyn Tyson in the Top 10 of the NFL Draft and handing running back Travis Etienne a four-year contract.
Etienne spent the first few years of his career in relative anonymity on some below-average Jacksonville Jaguars teams, but he really stepped on the accelerator in the 2025 season during a 13-win campaign. Etienne proved he is capable of being an excellent lead back this season, and the rest of the NFL seems to be realizing what a unique talent he is.
Etienne came in 96th on the NFL's Top 100 ranking, which shows that players around the league were willing to applaud Etienne for his breakout campaign. Etienne is already the second Saints player who appeared on this list, as future Hall of Fame pass rusher Cam Jordan managed to get things kicked off at No. 100.
Saints RB Travis Etienne ranked as No. 96 player on NFL Top 100
Etienne ran for 1,107 yards despite splitting carries with rookie Bhayshul Tuten last season, marking the third healthy campaign out of four in which he managed to crack four digits on the ground. Where he took a step forward was as a receiver, as six of his seven career receiving touchdowns came during his first and only season under Liam Coen.
While head coach Kellen Moore has developed a reputation as a master of the vertical passing game, his work with Ezekiel Elliott in Dallas and Saquon Barkley in Philadelphia shows that his offense can be a major boost for running backs with enough talent to execute his vision. Will Etienne be in for a similar bump?
Etienne will join an offense that drafted two promising young tackles with back-to-back first-round picks in Kelvin Banks Jr. and Taliese Fuaga and sports names like Tyson, Chris Olave, and Juwan Johnson in the pass catcher stable. This won't be a situation where Etienne is worked to death as a bell cow for a subpar offense.
Etienne will immediately give the Saints a succession plan for Alvin Kamara, who has seen his effectiveness dwindle as he prepares for the last few years of his career. Shough and Etienne together make for a hellacious 1-2 punch in the backfield for years to come.
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