Jaguars Trade Robinson: 3 Observations as Etienne Takes Over Backfield

The Jaguars made a surprising move on Monday night, dealing James Robinson for a sixth-round pick.

The Jacksonville Jaguars made the latest in a long line of trades on Monday evening, this time reportedly trading third-year running back and former 1,000-yard rusher James Robinson to the New York Jets.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport was the first to report the Jaguars had traded Robinson to the Jets. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Jaguars will receive a conditional sixth-round draft pick that could become a fifth-round selection.

With Robinson's time as a Jaguar now over, what does this mean for the Jaguars' offense and future plans? We break it down below. 

Travis Etienne is the undisputed No. 1 running back for the first time in his NFL career

For the first time since the night he was drafted in 2021, Travis Etienne is now the sole owner of the Jaguars' backfield. Even before his Lisfranc injury as a rookie, Etienne started out as the Jaguars' No. 2 back last year since Robinson was just a year removed from a stellar 1,000-yard rookie season. Etienne then didn't start his first game until Week 6 this year, with Robinson starting the year as the leader of the running back room despite missing training camp and the preseason with an Achilles injury.

The shift began in Week 5 vs. the Houston Texans, however. Etienne has taken more carries than Robinson over the last month and saw his snap count slowly increase over Robinson's before he played a season-high 80% of the offensive snaps in Week 7. Etienne has been a breath of fresh air for the Jaguars' offense as a rusher, rushing for 271 yards (7.97 yards per carry) and a touchdown over the last three weeks, totaling 100 yards from scrimmage in each game. 

Etienne offers something Robinson rarely did, which is consistent game-breaking ability. Robinson scored on several long runs at the start of the season, but Etienne has suddenly become the first player on the Jaguars' offense to strike fear into opposing defenses since Allen Robinson. That means something, and in this case it meant Robinson would no longer be in the fold.

Jaguars will now avoid the RFA dance with Robinson, with Monday's compensation showing he wasn't in the long-term plans 

While getting a sixth-round pick that could potentially become a fifth-round pick in a deal that involves an undrafted back who is set to be an restricted free agent in March isn't exactly bad business, it does show the Jaguars' priorities at the position. The Jaguars would have retained Robinson's rights at the start of next year's offseason, so they very easily could have rostered him for the next 10 games and then control his future, at least for 2023. 

Instead, though, the Jaguars see a likely fifth-round pick as more valuable than having Robinson on the roster for the next two months. Whether this is warranted can be debated, especially since Robinson has thrived in pass-protection, which is Etienne's biggest weakness. But simply looking at the compensation the Jaguars received, it is clear they had no future plans for Robinson. Maybe it was an organizational philosophy. Maybe it was because of Etienne's recent breakout. No matter what it was, Sunday's 12-snap, 0-carry game painted the picture.

Who can step up behind Etienne?

The question for the Jaguars now is how do they replace Robinson's production. Considering they are a pass-first offense and Etienne is the No. 1 running back, it isn't as if there are a plethora of touches to be replaced in the backfield. But Etienne does still have to prove he can handle the workload since he has not recorded more than 16 touches in a single game this season. Add in the fact that Etienne has allowed three pressures in pass-protection this year compared to Robinson's one, and there are some snaps that have to be filled.

Could JaMycal Hasty, the clear new No. 2 running back, be that guy? Hasty hasn't had a pass-blocking rep all season and is closer to Etienne in style than he is to Robinson, so there is some projection involved. Hasty has impressed the Jaguars' staff with his burst, but could he be the short-yardage hammer Robinson has been? 

Then there is rookie running back Snoop Conner, who the Jaguars traded up to select in the fifth-round of this year's draft. Conner had his moments during camp but averaged 2.2 yards per carry on 29 carries in the preseason and has been a healthy scratch in every game this season. The Jaguars picked up Hasty on the waive wire after camp and he immediately jumped in front of Conner on the depth chart, which isn't the most encouraging sign. Still, he is the closest player in the room skill-set-wise to Robinson and could start to see the occasional carry.