The Jacksonville Jaguars running back room could be special

With the changes to the team’s roster and the addition of players this offseason, the Jacksonville Jaguars could have a solid running back unit.

The 2020 Jacksonville Jaguars running back room has the potential to be the most versatile since the days of Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor.

This is a group that includes: Leonard Fournette, Ryquell Armstead, Chris Thompson, and Devine Ozigbo. For starters, if Fournette is moved during the preseason I anticipate the Jaguars going forward with Armstead, Thompson, and Ozigbo. If Fournette makes it to Week 1, I believe Ozigbo will be cut.

For the sake of this article the assumption will be that Fournette starts the season in black and teal. The days of Chris Ivory and Toby Gerhart are over and the Jaguars finally head into a season with a complete group of backs that offers two downhill runners with Fournette and Armstead alongside a true change-of-pace back in Thompson.

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Now, while there aren’t two pro bowl caliber backs like in the days of Jones-Drew and Taylor (four between the two of them) this group should offer up more consistency than we have seen since 2008. I take a stab at looking ahead at what could be the most exciting group of backs Jacksonville has seen in a long time.

The former EVP of football operations of the Jacksonville Jaguars is now gone from the organization and with his departure should also mark the departure of the ground and pound offensive imprint that saw Fournette average 18.5 carries per game since he was drafted in 2017.

A fresh offense is what I expect with the arrival of Jay Gruden and his West Coast Offense that should actually resemble a West Coast offense compared to the days of Nate Hackett (who was handcuffed to Blake Bortles in all fairness). With Gardner Minshew entering the season as the unquestioned starter for the Jacksonville Jaguars, we should see a large uptick in play-action plays after we saw him throw for a 133.4 Passer Rating on play-action (3rd in the league among eligible passers).

On the surface this could look like a shift away from prioritizing the running back position and while that may be the case, I see it as an opportunity for the Jaguars to put their versatile backs in favorable situations against the defense and maximize the potential of this young and hungry group. Leonard Fournette saw an eight-man box on 31.7% of his snaps in 2019 and with adding uncertainty to the Jaguars play calling. The number should drop as Gruden takes the load off Fournette and keep him fresh.

The Jaguars made the excellent choice to sign former Washington running back Chris Thompson this offseason. If he stays relatively healthy he will be a solid addition to an offense that has been desperately longing for a change-of-pace back.

Thompson comes to the Jaguars after catching 212 passes during the span of 66 games. Following Fournette’s eye popping 76 receptions from 2019 the Jaguars head into the 2020 Season with two backs who have a career total of 346 receptions. Looking back at the start of this offseason to projecting to the fall my favorite buzzword has been “versatility”, following the additions of Thompson, Tyler Eifert, and second-round gem Laviska Shenault Jr.

It is crystal clear that the Jaguars are done with being a vanilla offense and are looking to surround the explosive Minshew with weapons that can create plays and add to the overall versatility of the offense. The Jaguars running backs are poised to make an impact.

Point blank, this is one position group that is going to be a ton of fun to watch and to see how this offense utilizes the varying skill set that each running back has to offer. Gone are the days of running on first and second down, only to be forced into a third and long situation. This Jacksonville Jaguars offense is going to be explosive.

Hopefully the explosiveness will lead to more wins in 2020.

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