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Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne says he has nothing against being used as a wide receiver as he would have nothing against being Deebo Samuel 2.0. Samuel was a dual-threat last season as the San Francisco 49ers effectively used him both as a running back and wide receiver.
Etienne, the 25th overall pick of the 2021 NFL draft, missed the entire 2021 season due to a Lisfranc injury. Etienne is now healthy and is present at the team's OTAs. On Tuesday, Etienne was used as a wide receiver during the team's practice.
"Nah, nah just position flexibility," Etienne told CBS Sports. "If I'm in those positions throughout the game and we get good matchups, we'll be able to exploit them. So it's just me being able to do more and being valuable.
Football is all about matchups so I mean if I could be like Deebo Samuel, I would love that. Honestly the game is a game of productivity. If you can produce, the team is always going to have a need for you. It's just trying to be the best player I can be so I can be on the field at all times."
Etienne would have nothing against being a dual-threat
Samuel was putting up big numbers throughout the 2021 season but has since requested a trade from the 49ers.
Even though Samuel was effective, he reportedly wasn't a big of how he was used in the 49ers' offense last year. "Well see it's different for him because he's the receiver going to the backfield. I'm the running back going to receiver," Etienne explains.
"For me that's taking less pounding on my body. For him that's putting my pounding on his. You've got to see it from his perspective. For me, it's totally fine because I get to get outside in space and just work against DBs, smaller guys and I don't have to run between the tackles. Who wouldn't love that?"