Travis Etienne declares for draft

[Woodman]

https-::profootballtalk.nbcsports.com:2021:01:15:travis-etienne-declares-for-draft:


Clemson running back Travis Etienne surprised many people when he opted to return to school for the 2020 season, but he doesn’t have any shockers up his sleeve this time around.
Thanks to the NCAA granting an extra year of eligibility to all football players, Etienne was eligible to go back to school in 2021. On Friday, he announced that he won’t be doing that and will be entering the NFL draft.

Etienne leaves Clemson as the ACC’s career leader in rushing yards with 4,952, rushing touchdowns with 70, and total touchdowns with 78. He ran 168 times for 914 yards and 14 touchdowns and caught 48 passes for 588 yards and two touchdowns this season.

[OpIv37]

he's insanely good. I'm sure he'll be the first RB off the board.

[Woodman]

He's outstanding and I agree he'll be the 1st RB off the board.

[YardRat]

But when does the first running back come off the board?

[Woodman]

This kid is special so I'd guess upper 1st.

Usually the RB's don't go until the end of the 1st.

[ParanoidAndroid]

He could be an absolute 1st down machine and blitz killer in this offense.

[YardRat]

He could be an absolute 1st down machine and blitz killer in this offense.

I don't have the confidence that Daboll would be able to utilize his skills appropriately.

[ParanoidAndroid]

Why? Daboll has had good rushing offenses before. Out of 7 years as an OC, he has ranked in the top 10 four times including twice here and 11th once. Our best weapons were not lined up behind Josh Allen so they didn't get the ball. Etienne changes that. He has the speed to threaten the edges.

[ParanoidAndroid]

We didn't trust him to develop Josh Allen before this year, either. He has never had a good QB before him and he doesn't have a #1 RB to take pressure off him.

[YardRat]

Why? Daboll has had good rushing offenses before. Out of 7 years as an OC, he has ranked in the top 10 four times including twice here and 11th once. Our best weapons were not lined up behind Josh Allen so they didn't get the ball. Etienne changes that. He has the speed to threaten the edges.

Because the running game under him has been almost non-existent, those rankings are skewed by who he has had at QB (Taylor and Allen) and how they affected the totals by adding to them or...in the case of Cleveland and KC...how they couldn't throw for **** and had to run the ball (Brady Quinn for partial seasons in both cases, greater than 2-1 run/pass ratio for both) .

He's left the best overall running back the team has had the last two seasons rotting on the inactive list. the fact that he couldn't...or wouldn't...find a way to utilize the one dual-threat back that could help exploit opponents aggressive pass rushes, take some heat off of Allen and possibly open up bigger lanes for actual runs speaks volumes.

He needs serious help developing and implementing the run game.

[ParanoidAndroid]

You don't get to a top 10 running game simply because you have no QB. You have to be able to scheme it even when teams know you have to.

Yeldon was a bench warmer for a reason. He was the 3rd best RB on the roster.

[YardRat]

You don't get to a top 10 running game simply because you have no QB. You have to be able to scheme it even when teams know you have to.

Yeldon was a bench warmer for a reason. He was the 3rd best RB on the roster.

When you run the ball more than two times the number of times you pass the ball and end up with 2 and 5 wins, yeah you do.

And we'll just have to agree to disagree on Yeldon, but I'm pretty confident with my assessment considering what he did before coming to Buffalo compared to what Singletary and Moss have done since.

[Mace]

Why? Daboll has had good rushing offenses before. Out of 7 years as an OC, he has ranked in the top 10 four times including twice here and 11th once. Our best weapons were not lined up behind Josh Allen so they didn't get the ball. Etienne changes that. He has the speed to threaten the edges.

I think it ties in with your next comment about him developing Allen.

At heart I think Daboll is a blitzkrieg passing guy and he never had the perfect weapons to pursue it. Given the weapons, he wants to use them, and I think he neglects the rushing aspect. Honestly, the Bills had a very creative passing attack this season and a very bare bones running game, they mostly used when they were attempting ball control. For a team that stresses mobility on the line, they barely even used the backs for screens against blitzes, much less draws.

I go back and forth on Daboll. I think this is his perfect situation, and I think his gameplans are directed at least in theory by McDermott, but he has some shortcomings when it comes to slants, screens and running game.

I'll also say though, that I don't think he's hit his ceiling. I remember how he dabbled with Allen in the no huddle more in year two, and I think it speaks to his growth as a coordinator that he contributed to team efforts in ball control this past season.

He does not make me confident about his use of running game, but I also admit he did not make me confident about his use of passing game.

I have a feeling, next seasons offense will evolve another step and so will Daboll with the weapons provided. Daboll strikes me as a guy who wants to play with his toys, and will spend the offseason figuring new ways to use them now that he has some good ones.

The Bills terribly need defensive help though, so Etienne has to be out of play, and even Najee should be.

[Woodman]

I'm pretty sure we won't have the opportunity to be tempted into either of these two incredibly talented RB's.
Free agency could be where we find the back we need.
Chris Carson would be my 1st choice if that became possible.

[ParanoidAndroid]

Chuba Hubbard might be one to grab early on day 3.

[Woodman]

related to Marv?