Leonard Fournette set for breakout campaign in 2018
By Jack Stern
With Leonard Fournette pounding the rock for the Jacksonville Jaguars last season, the offense looked significantly different. He became the franchise’s first 1,000 yard rusher since Maurice Jones-Drew, changing the team’s outlook entirely.
Despite the fact that Leonard Fournette missed three games, was plagued by injuries for most of the second half of the year, and faced stacked boxes more than any other back in the league, he was still able to be the game changer that the Jaguars needed.
Heading into his sophomore season, all the tools are in place for him to evolve into one of the best backs in the league. The former fourth overall pick showed up at the team’s OTAs eight pounds lighter, will be running behind newly acquired All-Pro guard Andrew Norwell, and the team has added some new pass catching weapons to take the attention off of him.
The weight Fournette took off will allow him to be make quicker cuts to elude defenders, and breakaway from the pack more easily. As a between-the-tackles back, having a guard of Norwell’s caliber will make a world of difference. The talented wideouts on the roster will force opposing defenses to respect the team’s passing attack and put more defenders in coverage.
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Additionally, the former LSU Tiger has a year of experience under his belt. He won’t have the same maturity hiccups or growing pains – that saw him earn a one game suspension – as he did last year. He now knows what playing in the NFL is all about and what to expect. Being in a locker room with so many leaders on both sides of the ball also allowed Fournette to blossom into a true team player.
Many around the league also believe the workhorse is in line to build on his successful rookie season.
"“I think he looks at last year as success, but he’s such a team oriented guy – he averaged 3.9 yard a carry – and I think he’s going to improve on that dramatically with this offense,” NFL Network analyst Shaun O’Hara said on a recent segment of “slump or surge” evaluating the 2017 running back draft class."
As a former center, O’Hara’s statement carries significant credibility. During his time with the Giants, he played a big part in their Super Bowl XLII victory and blocked for one of the best running backs in NFL history in Tiki Barber. Like Barber, Fournette is a old school, plow-you-over, bell cow type of back. It’s expected that he’ll carry the ball 20+ times a game and carry a heavy workload. He is one of those solar system players that an offense can gameplan around and find creative ways to put the ball in their hands.
Playing at a position where the learning curve from college to the NFL is typically small – the last two rushing leaders have been rookies – Fournette had a very successful rookie season. With an improved supporting cast, it seems like the sky is the limit for him in his second season and beyond.