JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - JANUARY 04: Travis Etienne Jr. #1 of the Jacksonville Jaguars takes the field prior to a game against the Tennessee Titans at EverBank Stadium on January 04, 2026 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images) Getty
METAIRIE, LOUISIANA - AUGUST 13: Travis Etienne Jr. #3 of the New Orleans Saints participates in drills during a joint practice at Ochsner Sports Performance Center on August 13, 2026 in Metairie, Louisiana. (Photo by Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images) Getty
The New Orleans Saints didn't hand out a four-year, $52 million bag to Travis Etienne in March just to build a cute little committee.
When front-office brass locked down the former Jacksonville star earlier this year in March, their plan was to simply pair him with Alvin Kamara to make a lethal run game.
So, when training camp threw a curveball with Kamara's injury keeping him out for at least a month, both the staff and Etienne knew what they had to do.
"I think Trav's a pure running back as it is. I watched him loosely from afar while he started his career in Jacksonville," head coach Keelan Moore said when talking about Etienne Jr. in Week 1 preparations.
"Studying his film last year, the zone running scheme, the way he kind of ran it, I thought he did an excellent job."
GettySaints HC Keelan Moore gets real about Travis Etienne
Mickey Loomis specifically targeted the Louisiana native to be at the center of a rebuilt offense. They didn't panic when Kamara was sidelined. They knew they had an equally reliable bell-cow ready to go.
What separated him from the standard backs, for Moore, was Etienne's knack for turning broken plays into hidden yardage.
The training camp brought out how well he handles zone, gap, and duo concepts with elite backside vision.
"He had like a good little mix of duo, a couple of perimeter runs, some gap schemes. He had a good variety there but I thought it was all the extra yards and that he was able to gain in some of the run game, like broken tackle or finding something on the backside. I think he has a really good vision and I think he was very productive last year."
But what about when Kamara returns? Moore has a plan for that too.
"He does have that ability to, even if he's not a starter, contribute to our football team in the kickoff coverage unit, the punt unit," Moore said. "So that'll be beneficial for him as he kind of learns and gets acclimated to the defensive system. Hopefully, he can get acclimated to our special teams system as well, quickly and provide some depth there."
GettySaints HC Keelan Moore gets real about Travis Etienne
The Saints paid a premium check to Etienne over others for a reason. Their backfield was in shambles, and honestly, the front office felt pressured to push all their chips to the center.
ESPN's Ben Solak sees, or rather predicts , that gamble paying off.
"Etienne was largely an average back in Jacksonville. Over the past three seasons, he has averaged 3.9 yards per carry (RBs average 4.5) with a 36% success rate (RBs average 40.4%). He has endured scheme changes, terrible offensive lines and fended off committee backfields."
Solak warns that Etienne can only be an X-factor to a team with a solid plan. For Etienne to actually work, Moore needs a seriously revamped running game scheme, because the one in 2025 was simply a disaster.
"No matter which way you sliced it, the Saints had one of the three worst rushing attacks in football last season: success rate (29th), EPA per rush (30th) and explosive rush rate (32nd)," Solak writes.
"But the Saints need him to be a quality veteran back behind what they expect to be an ascending young line as they build a good offensive nucleus for Shough to develop. If the running game repeats its 2025 woes, the Saints will be one-dimensional and accordingly unable to take a leap."
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