Travis Etienne’s dream landing spot is the Arizona Cardinals

Travis Etienne is one of the premier running backs in the draft. He wants to be an Arizona Cardinal.

As a Clemson standout and the man who owns the ACC career rushing record with nearly 5,000 rushing yards, Travis Etienne was asked during what seemed to be the middle of a workout which team would be his “dream” landing spot. He would admit that “the Cardinals at 16” would be just that. Now if this isn’t the Hopkins/Murray/Watt effect going on here, then I don’t know what is.

I can’t remember any high profile draft prospect that’s ever wanted to come to the desert. This claim alone shows the culture change that is occurring for the Cardinals organization. For this fanbase, it’s overdue with every big name player that’s left the team and gone on to have success.

Let’s face it, the possibility that the Arizona Cardinals go with Etienne at 16 is a real possibility, as well as a running back sometime in the draft. Look for this to happen if the team signs a veteran secondary player in free agency. As much praise and desire that Najee Harris gets, let’s think about Etienne’s skillset here. He’s able to catch the ball and have good production, posting around 500 yards through the air in his junior and senior seasons.

Having Etienne on the roster would be what Chase Edmonds wants to be- a reliable rusher who may specialize in the passing game. Edmonds being handed the reigns would be a bad move for the team as he’s shown he just isn’t meant to be a number one back. As for Kenyan Drake, hopefully the team can re-sign him for the right price. However his production was definitely worth the money last year.

Etienne could finally let Kyler Murray operate from under center, which in this case would be a new wrinkle in the Cardinals offense that wasn’t seen much, if at all from last year. Opening up play action fakes, or letting Etienne take it inside the tackles will only help Murray’s running abilities.