A Gen Z Percy Harvin? Urban Meyer discusses unique role for Jacksonville Jaguars
The new Urban Meyer NFL offense got a bit of a reveal recently when the Jacksonville Jaguars held their rookie minicamp.
Meyer told reporters that first-round RB Travis Etienne will take all of his minicamp reps at wide receiver.
“Worst case scenario you have a running back that’s elite with receiver skills,” Meyer said, per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, who drew a comparison to Le’Veon Bell in his prime.
From a wide angle view, this is the NFL version of a wrinkle in the Meyer offense that’s been around for years, and something he discussed shortly after picking the Clemson running back.
“We look at our history — Curtis Samuel, Percy Harvin, Parris Campbell — I love those type of players,” he said shortly after the pick on ESPN’s College GameDay, per 247Sports. “The game is about speed. It’s about big plays. Jacksonville had a hard time getting big plays last year. We felt he was the No. 1 player on the board. He’s a big play waiting to happen. And to say he’s going to be purely a running back, I’m not sure that’s going to be the case.”
It appears Etienne could be a Swiss Army Knife-type offensive weapon for the Jaguars, something Meyer described as a “great puzzle piece” with “very good ball skills.”