Trent Baalke Provides Progress Report on Travis Etienne, Rest of 2021 Draft Class

How have the Jaguars' second-year players developed so far? Trent Baalke gave an idea this week.

Few teams are going to rely on young players as much as the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022. Once again set to be one of the most youthful teams in the NFL, the Jaguars will need big impacts from a host of first and second-year players. 

The biggest focus has, of course, been on quarterback Trevor Lawrence, last year's No. 1 overall pick and the Jaguars' hopeful franchise quarterback. Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke said this week on the O-Zone Podcast with senior Jaguars writer John Oehser that he has seen progress from Lawrence this offseason, but what about the rest of the 2021 draft class?

In the same interview with Oehser, Baalke also gave a progress report on some of the other key members of Jacksonville's draft class from just a year ago. While Lawrence headlined the nine-player class last year, the Jaguars still made four other top 65 picks -- picks the Jaguars are hoping will make a big impact starting in 2022.

"I feel really good. You know, right now with what we're seeing on the field, I think we're seeing the maturation of that class before our very eyes," Baalke told Oehser. 

Among the biggest names in the group is running back Travis Etienne, who the Jaguars picked with the No. 25 overall pick last year to pair with Lawrence. The former Clemson star running back was meant to serve as an instant explosive play option for the Jaguars, but a foot injury in the second preseason game knocked Etienne out for his entire rookie season.,

Etienne is back on the field, though, cleared to fully participate in the Jaguars' organized team activities after a season spent rehabbing on the sidelines. 

"I think it's been nice to see Travis out there. He's shown some really good things early on in camp -- and it's early," Baalke said. 

Etienne has been a full participant in this phase of the Jaguars' offseason, earning praise last week from head coach Doug Pederson.

"Travis has been cleared for everything. He’s been doing really well through the whole offseason program," Pederson said on Monday. "We’re still going to monitor and make sure he’s 100 percent. We don’t want to have any setbacks at this stage, but he’s been doing really good."

As for other members of the 2021 class the Jaguars will lean on, defensive backs Tyson Campbell (Round 2, No. 33 overall) and safety Andre Cisco (Round 3, No. 65 overall) are set to be key pieces of the secondary. Campbell had a strong second half of his rookie season while Cisco made three starts late in the year, forcing two fumbles in the process.

"You know, the DBs, Tyson and Cisco, both of those guys are, you know, way ahead of where they were last year when we ended," Baalke said.

Two members of the Jaguars rookie class who didn't see much playing time were fourth-rounders Jay Tufele (No. 106) and edge rusher Jordan Smith (No. 121). The pair combined for six appearances and three tackles as they played reserve roles and dealt with injuries and COVID-19 during the season. 

The pair has shown growth to this point, however, with Baalke noting that each is fighting for a spot on the depth chart.

"Jay Tufele, Jordan Smith guys like that are competing, and they've taken another jump, you know, so it's going to be interesting to watch these guys as they go through this season," Baalke said. "And you know, if they can continue to build off where they're currently at, I think the future's bright for all those guys."