Who Should I Start? Christian Kirk or Travis Etienne

Wednesday, May 22, 1:41 PM

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk (groin), who missed the final five games of last season with a groin injury, said he's feeling good and healthy this spring during organized team activities. The Jaguars receiving room lost Calvin Ridley and Zay Jones this offseason but added Gabe Davis via free agency and took Brian Thomas in the first round of the NFL draft. Especially with Ridley out of the picture in 2024, the 27-year-old Kirk is the team's most experienced pass-catcher who should be the favorite to be quarterback Trevor Lawrence's most trusted target. Before getting hurt last year, the former second-round pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 2018 out of Texas A&M had 57 catches (85 targets) for 787 yards and three touchdowns in 12 starts. In his first year with Jacksonville, Kirk had a career-high 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns.

Thursday, May 23, 6:23 PM

For the second straight season, the Jacksonville Jaguars plan to ease running back Travis Etienne Jr.'s workload in 2024. Despite similar plans last year, Etienne actually had a bigger workload in 2023 than he did in 2022, and head coach Doug Pederson doesn't want to repeat that. "We talked about this as a staff and myself, making sure Tank Bigsby gets opportunities to get out there and take some of the pounding off of Travis," head coach Doug Pederson said. Etienne took over as the top back in 2022 by mid-October and accounted for 61% of the RB carries and 60% of the RB touches. Last year, he had 75% of the RB carries and 76% of the RB touches. Bigsby never quite earned the trust of the coaches for a bigger role in 2023, but that figures to change this year. Etienne missed his rookie year with a Lisfranc foot injury but has since established himself as a top back in the NFL. However, his ceiling as an RB1 in fantasy in 2024 could be tough to come by.