Leonard Fournette is still a top 10 running back

Patrik Walker of CBS Sports believes Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette is a top 10 running back in the NFL.

Ask 10 sportswriters what they think about Leonard Fournette and his football skills and you may get 10 different answers.

The Jacksonville Jaguars running back has just come off the best season of his NFL career and there are still plenty of questions as to where he belongs on the list of 32 starters in this league. If you ask Patrik Walker of CBS Sports, the former first-round pick out of LSU is still one of the better backs to have on your roster.

And the Jaguars, who tried to trade him during the NFL Draft, will need to make a decision at the end of the 2020 season what to do with their bell-cow back.

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"“This just in: Fournette is still very good at American football,” Walker, who ranks Fournette eighth overall amongst starters, writes Walker."

There is plenty to like about Leonard Fournette and how he handled himself last season, and how he matured on the field and as a leader on the sidelines. It’s a far cry from what it was like just a season before when it looked as though Fournette was playing himself out of the city and the organization that made his NFL dream come true.

For whatever the reason, the Jaguars looked to move Fournette this offseason, wiping the slate clean and forging a new identity. But the running back had no serious takers and account for almost 1,700 yards off offense last season in a fractured system.

There is change on the horizon with new offensive coordinator Jay Gruden in charge of making things go this coming season. Fournette may not get as many touches running and receiving the ball, but he could benefit from better production than he showed last season.

Fournette, who was eighth overall on Walker’s list is just a few steps above Todd Gurley and Dalvin Cook.

"“Things got scathingly close at this point of the list, because I easily (and was readily willing to) put [Todd] Gurley above Fournette, but there’s something to be said for a guy who racks up for 1,674 yards from scrimmage — including an 81-yard spurt — on a drowning team like the Jacksonville Jaguars,” Walker adds."

In the final year of his rookie deal, Leonard Fournette knows he must do something miraculous to remain with the team after this year. The front office did not pick up his fifth-year option, which means he could become a free agent and find his own new identity somewhere else.

And if he is able to become even more productive than he was last season – which would mean more trips to the end zone – there should not be a shortage of suitors for a young running back who still has something to prove and will be entering his prime with his second NFL contract.

"“Some argue he hasn’t played equal to his draft status as a former fourth-overall pick but, questions about his attitude included, you’re left wondering if it’s all more attributable to the toxic environment in North Florida than his ability,” writes Walker. “He might not be with the Jaguars much longer and, if so, his new team would love to have a guy who posted 3,016 yards from scrimmage and 13 touchdowns in two of his three NFL seasons.”"