Kansas City Chiefs (-3.5) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (1 PM EST on CBS)

The best game of the NFL week 2 schedule is when the Chiefs go on the road to take on the Jaguars. It was a disappointing opening game for Kansas City as they struggled against the Detroit Lions at home.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes put up rather pedestrian numbers in week 1 but he was without Travis Kelce. Kelce and stud defensive tackle Chris Jones are set to return for the Chiefs in this one. Jones will be needed to help stop the rushing attack of Jacksonville led by Travis Etienne Jr. and rookie Tank Bigsby. Etienne and Bigsby each found the end zone in week 1 against the Colts.

On the outside, Calvin Ridley made a splash in his debut for the Jaguars. Ridley did not look rusty after his 1 year suspension as he hauled in 8 receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown. Ridley will be a challenge for the Chiefs secondary all game long.

Baltimore Ravens (+3) @ Cincinnati Bengals (1 PM EST on CBS)

Cincinnati would very much like to burn the tape of their week 1 performance against the rival Browns. Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense could never find a rhythm as he was held to under 100 yards passing. It was the first time in his career that Burrow was held under the 100-yard passing mark. Burrow will look to get back on track versus the rival Ravens at home.

Meanwhile, the Ravens are coming off a dominating performance against the Houston Texans. Baltimore may have found its next star in rookie Zay Flowers. Flowers looked electric in his debut as he had 87 yards from scrimmage in week 1 including 9 receptions. Lamar Jackson and the Ravens will be without J.K. Dobbins who is now out for the season. Expect another classic AFC North battle in this one.

Seattle Seahawks (+4.5) @ Detroit Lions (1 PM EST on FOX)

Jared Goff and the Lions looked like an NFC contender in their week 1 win at Kansas City. Their defense which struggled all last season looked completely different in the opener. If they can get this type of performance consistently from their defense the Lions will be a threat come playoff time.

Seattle on the other hand looked lackluster as they were beat at home in week 1 by the Rams. Geno Smith who was the Comeback Player of the Year in 2022 struggled with a Rams defense that lacks playmakers. It was troubling to see for a Seahawks team that was set to take the next step this year. Look for this one to be another high-scoring affair. The Seahawks won 48-45 when the two teams met last season.

San Francisco 49ers (-7.5) @ Los Angeles Rams (4:05 PM EST on FOX)

Before the season started this looked to be an easy win for the 49ers. Now they may have more of a battle on their hands when they visit LA. This game will be a classic example of whether week 1 was a fluke or not. If the Rams keep it close many will start to give them respect. The problem is they will be dealing with the elite 49ers defense who will put pressure on Matthew Stafford all day long.

Rams rookie wide receiver Puka Nacua was the story of week 1 as he seemingly came out of nowhere. The Rams will need a repeat performance from Nacua who hauled in 10 receptions for 119 yards in his debut.

Washington Commanders (+3.5) @ Denver Broncos (4:25 PM EST on CBS)

Washington is looking to start 2-0 when they travel to the Mile High City on Sunday afternoon. The Commanders looked a bit shaky in their week 1 win against the Cardinals. Washington’s defense was dominant but the offense struggled at times. Quarterback Sam Howell had two costly turnovers but showed poised in leading Washington to a come-from-behind victory. Howell will need to be mistake-free on the road in Denver for Washington to have a chance.

The Broncos will be getting one of their best weapons back in Jerry Jeudy on Sunday. This is exactly what Russell Wilson and this offense needed as they look to bounce back from their week 1 loss. Wilson did have 2 touchdowns in the opener but the offense lacked explosiveness. They will need big plays to be able to beat the stingy Washington defense.

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Alec Pierce (Colts – WR) | ADP – 167.7 | WR67

Alec Pierce had a somewhat quiet 2022. You can say that about the Indianapolis Colts offense overall. Jonathon Taylor was a letdown and Michael Pittman couldn’t build on his breakout 2021 season. You could partially blame that on bad quarterback play and offensive play calling. Matt Ryan and Frank Reich are no longer there and Anthony Richardson looks poised to take over the QB1 role.

If you go back and watch the tape, Pierce showed flashes of talent, especially as a down-the-field threat. He averaged 11.8% air yards per reception and had a 13.5% target share. He was clearly the #2 wide receiver behind Pittman. In steps Richardson and new coach Shane Steichen to try and help revive the stagnant offense. The Colts also drafted Josh Downs and recently signed journey receiver Breshad Perriman. I am not too worried about these two jumping ahead of Pierce as the WR2. Expect some early lumps from Richardson but once the offense revs up Pierce will benefit.

Cordarrelle Patterson (Falcons – RB) | ADP – 209.3 | RB63

If you drafted Cordarrelle Patterson last year you are probably screaming at your screen right now. Before his knee injury, Patterson had two 20+ fantasy point outings including rushing for 141 yards in week 3. He was not able to replicate the early success post-injury. Patterson has become the forgotten man with the arrival of Bijan Robinson and the emergence of Tyler Allgeier.

I am not yet ready to give up on Patterson despite the now crowded backfield. He is a true position flex player which many teams are now coveting. Robinson is still a rookie and the gadget role will be Patterson’s for the foreseeable future.

Curtis Samuel (Commanders – WR) | ADP – 198.3 | WR75

We recently brought up Curtis Samuel in our latest best ball rankings and it’s worth bringing up again. Samuel has a similar type of role to Patterson where you will see him lining up in the backfield a good amount. Last year, he had 92 targets and 68 of those were catchable. Sam Howell although raw will be an upgrade over Taylor Heinicke. On top of better quarterback play, the Commanders now have Eric Bieniemy who will find creative ways to get him the ball.

Tank Bigsby (Jaguars – RB) | ADP – 159.3 | RB51

When the Jacksonville Jaguars drafted Tank Bigsby in the 3rd round of the 2023 NFL Draft it got our attention. Travis Etienne is clearly the lead back and James Robinson was no longer there. The Jaguars brought in Jamycal Hasty and D’Ernest Johnson this offseason and they now have a crowded RB room. I am not worried about those two backs jumping Bigsby for the #2 role. Bigsby will get his chances in the red zone for reasons we pointed out in this article. At this current ADP, he is worth grabbing late in your draft as the upside is too big to ignore.

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After missing all of his rookie season due to a Lisfranc injury, Travis Etienne was poised to break out in his second year. The former Clemson Tiger had a familiar face at quarterback in Trevor Lawrence and Doug Pederson was now running the offense. When the dust settled, Travis Etienne finished the fantasy year as RB17 (Half PPR) and totaled 187.6 FP. It wasn’t a down year by any means yet we all expected more from Etienne. Before we look ahead at Etienne’s fantasy outlook let’s first recap his 2022-2023 season.

2022

Travis Etienne started his 2022 campaign slowly. It wasn’t that big of a surprise since the RB was coming back from a pretty serious injury. He finished with single-digit fantasy points during his first 4 games. Etienne started to pick up momentum during the week 5 matchup against the Houston Texans. Etienne finished the day with 71 yards on the ground and an additional 43 yards receiving. After this game he started a streak of 4 straight double-digit fantasy point games including 3 top 10 finishes. This was the type of production fantasy owners were banking on.

After the bye week Etienne’s production slowed once again and this is the type of inconsistency that we don’t want to see in a top-tier running back. Thankfully Travis Etienne woke up again in his second matchup with the Texans. He used his vision to hit the hole, break the tackle and burst to the end zone for a 62-yard touchdown.

2023

As we start to project Travis Etienne’s value in 2023 and beyond it’s important to look at some key statistics. One of those is red zone stats among running backs. Etienne finished 30th in this metric behind the likes of Samaje Perine and Devin Singletary. The chances were there for Etienne as he had 59.4% of attempts in the red zone, he just couldn’t convert those into more points.

The Jacksonville Jaguars also drafted Tank Bigsby in the 3rd round of the 2023 NFL Draft. One could envision that the Jaguars are going to use him in the red zone given the stats I pointed out above. If that happens, Etienne’s value will take a hit.

Travis Etienne’s Fantasy Outlook

Travis Etienne is certainly a hot topic going into the upcoming season. He could be a league winner or he could end up costing you a chance at the playoffs. There seems to be no middle ground here. Currently, I have him slated at #21 overall in my 2023 top 100 fantasy rankings and I may drop him down some more. The inconsistency has me more worried about his overall value going forward.

Let’s take a quick look at where Etienne stands today in terms of ADP and FantasyPros ECR.

As you can see his ADP has stayed steady at 25 but his ECR is starting to drop. This goes to show that others are also second guessing his value going forward. I wouldn’t be surprised if his ECR continues to drop into the 20 range. As we move into training camp and the NFL preseason I will be keeping an eye on how Tank Bigsby is utilized. It will certainly have an impact on Etienne’s overall value. At this point, I have Travis Etienne on the tier 3 range of running backs for the 2023-2024 season.

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