With free agency and the draft behind us, a national outlet is taking a position-by-position look at the top players in the NFL ahead of the 2023 season.
Pro Football Focus released its ranking of the league’s top 32 running backs, and it came as no surprise to see former Clemson star Travis Etienne make the list.
Despite only having one NFL season of action under his belt, Etienne cracked the top 15 of PFF’s running back rankings, coming in at No. 15.
After being selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round (25th overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft, Etienne suffered a Lisfranc injury in the 2021 preseason that caused him to miss all of his rookie campaign. But he came back strong in 2022, rushing for 1,125 yards and five touchdowns as the team’s primary running back.
“Etienne didn’t play his true rookie season due to a Lisfranc injury, but the wait seemed worth it for the Jaguars, as their backfield speedster earned an 82.9 rushing grade thanks to 45 missed tackles forced (sixth in the NFL) and 26 explosive runs (13th in the NFL),” PFF’s Trevor Sikkema wrote.
Etienne started Jacksonville’s final 14 games (including the postseason) and tallied five 100-yard rushing games in the regular season before adding another 100-yard game in the playoffs.
Etienne finished the 2022 regular season ranked ninth in the league in rushing yards and eighth in yards per carry (5.1). He also added 35 receptions for 316 yards through the air.
Xavier Thomas is back to win another championship. Dear Old Clemson has added signed posters from Thomas to our online store. For this weekend only they are on sale at an introductory price of only $30.
Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. 
Dear Old Clemson is doing NIL the ‘Clemson way’, but we need your help to make sure we build a sustainable, repeatable model that will help keep Clemson competitive with the other top programs around the nation.
Dabo Swinney: “We need your assistance more than ever to provide meaningful NIL opportunities. Tiger Impact, Dear Old Clemson and other collectives allow student-athletes to utilize their voice and platform to maximize their NIL opportunities and strengthen their impact in the community.”
Graham Neff:
“Tiger Impact, Dear Old Clemson and other collectives need your support to help provide meaningful NIL opportunities for our student athletes. We are doing things the right way, the Clemson way with integrity as a non-negotiable and we fully support the mission of these groups.”
Join the Tiger Club or Lady Tiger Club to help these great student-athletes and help the Tigers compete at the highest level!
