Bleacher report says Jags should consider trading James Robinson
Since the Jacksonville Jaguars used their second pick in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft to select a running back in Travis Etienne, a lot of questions have been raised about James Robinson’s future with the team. The undrafted running back out of Illinois State was one of the NFL’s biggest surprises in 2021, rushing for 1,070 yards and seven touchdowns in 14 games.
But now that the team invested the 25th pick in a high-profile player at his position, many in the national media think Robinson may not be Jacksonville’s RB1 of the future. Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report listed him as the player the Jags should consider trading.
James Robinson was a surprise star as an undrafted rookie running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020, but the team just used a first-round draft pick on potential superstar Travis Etienne and when you invest that heavily in a back these days, he’s gotta be the focal point.
So while we wouldn’t fault the Jags for keeping the extremely inexpensive Robinson around as an insurance policy for Etienne, a team still lacking depth and overall talent would be wise to shop him following a 1,000-yard, double-digit-touchdown maiden NFL campaign at age 22.
Robinson will likely only lose value moving forward simply because he won’t get as many opportunities to shine. Dealing him now would be an example of selling high, even if the return wouldn’t be epic because he’s got just one strong year under his belt at a devalued position.
With the addition of Etienne, it’s fair to assume that Robinson will see a dip from the 17.1 attempts per game he averaged in 2020. But considering he led the NFL in carry percentage last year, he could afford to shoulder a bit less of the weight.
When you consider the fact that Etienne has a much different skill set than Robinson, being an explosive downfield runner with the chance to contribute in the passing game (not that Robinson isn’t effective in that regard), it makes a lot of sense to keep them both around.
It’s unlikely that the Jags will look to move Robinson anytime soon, and it’s interesting that he was the choice for Jacksonville instead of quarterback Gardner Minshew II, who has a much more difficult path to the field with Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville. As a quarterback, Minshew would also demand more trade value than a running back would.
It remains to be seen exactly how the carry distribution will break down between Robinson and Etienne (as well as free-agent addition Carlos Hyde), but it seems fairly clear that the coaching staff sees both being weapons to aid the offense.
