NO New Orleans Saints · RB· #3

Travis Etienne

Age: 27
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 215 lbs
College: Clemson
Drafted: 2021, No. 25 overall (JAX)
Experience: 6th NFL season

Compare with another player Running backs leaderboard

Overall grade

12th of 54 running backs

Well above typical

above average; 50 is average

Grades updated Mon, Oct 12, 3:02 AM ETRechecked every few hours on game days

The read

Travis grades above average among running backs so far, with no number far from the middle.

Not playing lately: He played in 3 of his team's first 3 games, then did not play in the last 1 game.

Written from his numbers, not from film. 3 games are behind the season figures.

How he stacks up

Every graded stat at a glance, against all the running backs in the league.

Success rate48%4th of 54small sample
Broken tackles10.0 per 10011th of 51small sample
EPA per carry−0.0016th of 54small sample
Explosive runs9.7%23rd of 54small sample
Stuffed runs16%23rd of 54small sample
Yards after contact1.8 yds26th of 51small sample

Left is the worst at his job, right is the best, and the line down the middle is average. The bubble is his percentile: 90 means better than nine in ten qualifying running backs. Faded bars are still small samples.

How he has progressed

Where he has ranked among running backs after each week, and every game behind it.

Season rank climbed: 60th to 69th percentile since Wk 2.

The line is his season-to-date rank among players at his position after each week, from 100 (the best) to 0 (the worst). It rises when he passes other players, not when he has one big game. Early weeks are noisier because fewer plays are behind them. The shaded weeks are the recent stretch.

EPA per carry game by game
Week	Opponent	That game	carries	Season rank after
1	vs DET	−0.20	9	–
2	vs BAL	+0.04	9	60th pct
3	vs LV	+0.10	13	69th pct

One game is a small sample: a single stat over 10 carries can swing on a handful of plays. Shaded rows are the recent stretch.

The numbers, in context

Each one against every running back with at least 20 carries. Right on the strip is better.

EPA per carry

Above typical

−0.00

16th of 54 running backs · top 30%

−0.30worse to better+0.08

Expected points added: how many points the play added to (or took from) the offense's scoring chances, given the down, the distance and the field position. A 4-yard run on 3rd-and-8 loses points even though it gains yards.

The box score: Yards per carry credits a 5-yard run on 3rd-and-15 and ignores the goal-line carry that scores.

Does it show up in winning? Across 153 games league-wide, teams won 60% of the time when their running back was in the best third on EPA per carry, and 46% when he was in the worst third.

Success rate

Elite

48%

4th of 54 running backs · top 8%

29%worse to better47%

How often a carry gains enough to keep the offense on schedule.

The box score: Rushing yards pile up on carries that did not help.

Does it show up in winning? Across 153 games league-wide, teams won 67% of the time when their running back was in the best third on success rate, and 49% when he was in the worst third.

Explosive runs

Typical

9.7%

23rd of 54 running backs · top 43%

3.6%worse to better16.0%

The share of his carries that go 10 yards or more.

The box score: A long run is in the yardage total but its frequency is not.

Does it show up in winning? Across 153 games league-wide, teams won 74% of the time when their running back was in the best third on explosive runs, and 45% when he was in the worst third.

Yards after contact

Typical

1.8 yds

26th of 51 running backs · bottom 51%

1.4 ydsworse to better2.6 yds

Yards he gains per carry after the first defender touches him. The blockers have done their job by then; this part is the back.

The box score: Rushing yards credit the line and the back alike.

Does it show up in winning? Across 128 games league-wide, teams won 71% of the time when their running back was in the best third on yards after contact, and 50% when he was in the worst third.

Broken tackles

Well above typical

10.0 per 100

11th of 51 running backs · top 22%

0.0 per 100worse to better13.8 per 100

Tackles he breaks per 100 carries, as charted by Pro Football Reference.

The box score: A broken tackle is not recorded anywhere in the box score.

Does it show up in winning? Across 128 games league-wide, a good or bad game on broken tackles from a running back has not lined up much with his team winning (62% wins in the best third, 55% in the worst).

Stuffed runs

Typical

16%lower is better

23rd of 54 running backs · top 43%

24%worse to better11%

The share of his carries that gain nothing or lose yards. Fewer is better, and the line shares the blame.

The box score: Hidden inside the yards per carry.

Does it show up in winning? Across 153 games league-wide, a good or bad game on stuffed runs from a running back has not lined up much with his team winning (60% wins in the best third, 53% in the worst).

How he plays

Tendencies: how his game differs from the running backs around him. These are not better or worse, only different, and often say as much about the offense or defense he plays in as about him.

Yards before contact

Style

2.5 yds

Gets big lanes, more than most running backs. A typical one is 2.3 yds.

1.6 ydslow to high3.0 yds

Yards per carry before a defender touches him. That is mostly the line and the scheme, so it is shown, not graded.

Runs to the edge

Style

15%

Runs between the tackles, more than most running backs. A typical one is 25%.

14%low to high41%

The share of his carries run around the end instead of between the tackles.

Carries from shotgun

Style

45%

Runs from shotgun, more than most running backs. A typical one is 34%.

16%low to high49%

The share of his carries that start with the quarterback in shotgun, a sign of what kind of run game he lives in.

Playing time

He has played in 3 of his team's 4 games with snap counts, on the field for about 50% of the team's offensive plays when he plays.

Not playing lately. He played in 3 of his team's first 3 games, then did not play in the last 1 game.

59%
DET
54%
BAL
38%
LV
out
ATL
?
MIN

Each column is a game: the share of his team's offensive snaps he played. 80% means about 8 of every 10 plays. “Out” means he did not play; a question mark means snap counts are not posted yet. Shaded games are the recent stretch.

Game by game

Every game this season: how it ended for his team, how much he played, his box score, and the advanced numbers from that one game. One game is a small sample, so read the right-hand columns as a snapshot, not his level.

Travis Etienne game by game
Game	Result	Snaps	Car	Yds	EPA/carry	Success	10+ yd runs	YAC/carry
Wk 1 vs DET	L 30–31	59%	9	46	−0.20	33%	22.2%	1.7 yds
Wk 2 vs BAL	W 24–17	54%	9	27	+0.04	56%	0.0%	1.4 yds
Wk 3 vs LV	L 27–35	38%	13	57	+0.10	54%	7.7%	2.1 yds

The box score

The traditional totals, with where each ranks among running backs. A total rewards volume, which is why the advanced numbers above matter.

Travis Etienne box score totals
Stat	Total	Rank
Carries	31	42nd of 54
Rushing yards	130	39th of 54
Rushing touchdowns	0	42nd of 54

Players with a similar profile

The running backs whose grades are closest to his across the same stats. Similar means similar numbers, not the same style of play.

CHI RB
D'Andre Swift
Overall 54 · −0.04
Compare
CAR RB
Chuba Hubbard
Overall 57 · +0.03
Compare
NYJ RB
Braelon Allen
Overall 55 · −0.03
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ATL RB
Bijan Robinson
Overall 60 · +0.07
Compare

Ranks are among players at the same job who have enough plays to be graded. Grades and rankings come from play-by-play, charting and snap-count data, so they cannot see blocking, route running or assignments. See how the grades work.

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Data: nflverse play-by-play, CC BY 4.0. Also FTN charting, Pro Football Reference advanced stats, snap counts and injury reports, all through nflverse. Calculations and charts by Raiders Rundown.

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