Fantasy Football Dilemma: Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby | Who to Start in Week 2

Week 1 of the NFL season delivered some interesting performances, from stars struggling to unknown players excelling.

One situation that caught the eye of a lot of people was the backfield breakdown in Jacksonville between Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby. I wanted to break down the numbers a bit from week 1, then discuss how to approach those two in week 2 and finally what to expect for the rest of the season.

Looking for start/sit help? Be sure to check out the FantasySP Who Should I Start tool.

Week 1 Numbers

Jacksonville jumped out to a 14-0 lead over Miami and led 17-7 at halftime, but the Jaguars went scoreless the rest of the contest and lost 20-17.

Jacksonville got 53 offensive snaps in the contest. Etienne started and played 37 of those snaps, which was a pretty solid percent of the snaps. Bigsby only played 17 snaps.

However, it was their production on the field that really stood out.

Both guys had 12 rushing attempts, and it was the backup Bigsby who was far more efficient. Bigsby went for 73 rushing yards, a 6.1-yard average. Etienne had just 44 yards, a 3.7-yard average.

Etienne scored on the ground and added two catches on three targets for 15 yards to tack on some more fantasy points, but he also lost a fumble late in the third quarter that completely changed the outcome of the game, as Miami scored on the next play.

Running Back Fantasy Outlooks

Etienne was looked to as the workhorse back in Jacksonville at the start of the season, but after just a week, that is being tested.

Bigsby was a popular waiver wire addition this week - he saw his own percentage rise from about 10 to over 35. At this point, he’s only starting in 2% of leagues, but even that is higher than any of us probably expected coming into the season.

It remains to be seen if week 1 was just a fluke, or if the Jaguars are going to basically split the workload down the middle with Etienne and Bigsby every week. 

I can say that losing a critical fumble like Etienne did last week is not a great way to get more work in the coming games. Looking at the game log and play-by-play game breakdown after the fumble, Etienne got three carries, while Bigsby got four.

I don’t think the Jaguars will just give up on Etienne after one mistake, especially because he’s a former first-round pick. But at the same time, Bigsby was a third rounder, so the franchise will also turn to the cheaper option if he’s producing at a similar or better level.

Week 2 Start Decisions

Jacksonville plays Cleveland in week 2. In week 1 against the Cowboys, the Browns’ defense allowed 70 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 attempts, while backs also caught five passes for 33 yards on five targets.

It’s a decent matchup, but after seeing how the work was distributed in week 1, fantasy owners aren’t sure if Etienne is a must start like he’s been when healthy the past couple seasons - or don’t know if Bigsby is worth a starting spot this week.

The week 2 projections seem to still like Etienne a lot, although he’s projected for just 13 carries. A couple catches have him projected for 15 fantasy points. Bigsby is projected for eight carries and six PPR fantasy points.

I know last week’s numbers are alarming, but I’m still a fan of starting Etienne this week. He still had a pretty solid fantasy outing last week, and I’m simply not going to give up on a highly-drafted running back after a single week.

It could backfire on you if the Jaguars put Etienne “in the doghouse” but I feel like the team would have done that at the end of week 1 if they were going to. You don’t want to bench Etienne and have him go off this week, so at least start him this coming week.

As for Bigsby, it’s very tempting to start him, but I’d only heavily consider it in deeper leagues. Week 1 could have just been an outlier, and if you start him in a standard league and he only gets a couple touches and scores you a couple points, you are likely on your way to a week 2 loss. 

I’m for starting him in a league with a pretty deep starting lineup. He’s really a flex option, so I’d need to see your other options before making a final decision. Use the FantasySP start/sit tool to help with those decisions.

This feels like a situation that could annoy fantasy owners all season, but it could also be wrapped up this week if Etienne gets his workhorse role back. FantasySP will be here to address the situation if Bigsby continues to get a good amount of touches, so check back for those stories.