Clemson football: Will Travis Etienne join Trevor Lawrence in the first round of the NFL draft?

Former Clemson football Travis Etienne is one of the top two running backs in the 2021 NFL Draft.

The 2021 NFL Draft is less than 30 days away and several former Clemson football players are expected to hear their names called throughout the four-day event.

Of course, Trevor Lawrence has been the talk of the draft given he is expected to be the first overall draft pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars but could his former backfield teammate, running back Travis Etienne, hear his name called on night one of the draft as well?

As we inch closer to April 29th, Etienne is currently a fringe first-round pick even though he is widely considered to be the top running back in the NFL draft. Both he and Alabama’s Najee Harris are one and two on the majority of teams’ draft boards.

However, being considered the top running back does not guarantee a spot in the first round based on the value that NFL teams assign running backs.

In the 2019 and 2020 NFL draft, only Alabama’s Josh Jacobs and LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire were taken in the first round and neither went in the Top 20.

As the NFL has developed into a passing league, running backs have seen a sharp decline in their value to teams. Former UGA running back Todd Gurley went from a Top 10 pick, MVP candidate, Super Bowl starter, highest-paid running back in NFL history to not currently on an NFL roster and all of that happened within six seasons.

Teams truly believe that running backs are easily replaced and that doesn’t bode well for talented runners like Travis Etienne.

On the bright side, while his senior year at Clemson didn’t go the way that he had hoped, it did vastly improve his draft stock.

In 2020, Travis would have been the sixth or seventh running back drafted and would have taken somewhere in the second to the third round. That means he would have signed a four-year deal worth $4.9-$5.2 million in total.

By coming back to Clemson football for another year, he will see a contract that is worth anywhere from $7-$12 million in total over the first four years. If the latest mock draft by Walterfootball.com is correct, Travis will hear his name just four picks in on night number two and will join Christian Wilkins in Miami. Should that be the case, he will sign a four-year $8.4 million deal.

Six times in Clemson football history the Tigers have had more than one player selected in the first round of the NFL draft – 1979, 1982, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. We are 29 days away from finding out if 2021 will be the seventh.