The running back shelf life in the NFL continues to dwindle. After being drafted early, many are put into bell cow roles and after over 200 carries for a few years, they lose a lot of the burst they had as rookies. For the Jaguars, they’re looking to avoid that with Travis Etienne Jr.

During the 2022 season, Etienne Jr. had 255 touches, with the next highest on the team being 90. ESPN’s Michael DiRocco detailed the moves Jacksonville made this offseason to soften the load for the team’s star runner.

Signing D’Ernest Johnson in free agency and drafting Auburn’s Tank Bigsby in the third round to supplement Travis Etienne Jr. makes a position group that was one of the team’s weakest last season into one of the strongest in 2023.

“I feel really good about that room,” coach Doug Pederson said. “There’s a lot of depth there. There’s some great competition that’s going to show up with training camp.

Heading into 2023, Etienne Jr. has Tank Bigsby, JaMycal Hasty and D’Ernest Johnson backing him up. It appears the Jaguars are taking a careful approach to their home run hitter and he has no problems with the plans.

“I feel like it keeps the wear and tear off my body,” Etienne said. “I don’t have to go and bang myself up each and every play. I’ve got somebody else to take a couple licks off of me and I love that.”