What You Need to Know:

• Fournette joined the Bucs just prior to Week 1 of last season.
• After a big Week 2 (12-103-2) against Carolina, Fournette sustained an ankle injury. He missed Weeks 4-6.
• After the season, HC Bruce Arians revealed that the team nearly cut Fournette for his attitude late in the season. He was deactivated for Week 14.
• Ronald Jones handled the lead back role for most of the year. He missed 2 games (broken finger/COVID-19 list, Weeks 15/16).
• With Fournette and Jones active from Week 7-Week 12, Jones out-carried the former Jag 65-45.
• Tampa Bay went pass heavy in year 1 with Tom Brady. The team called a run just 36.3% of the time during the regular season (3rd-lowest mark league-wide).
• “Playoff Lenny” really took off for the Bucs in January/February — with help from a RoJo quad injury that kept him out of the Wild Card Round. In the postseason, Fournette out-touched Jones 82-35. He out-targeted Jones 21-2.
• Overall, Fournette ranked a subpar 35th out of 48 RBs in Pro Football Focus’ Elusive Rating (min. 100 attempts).
• As a receiver, he ranked 19th out of 28 RBs with 40+ targets in yards per route run. With 5 drops, Fournette’s volume (47 targets) was his saving grace.
• Ronald Jones’ pass catching performance flopped. He ranked last among RB qualifiers in PFF’s receiving grades; bottom-8 in YPC and yards per route run.
• In March, the cash-strapped Bucs re-signed Fournette to a 1-year deal worth $3.25 million.
• In April, Gio Bernard joined the team on a 1-year pact. The sure-handed Bernard joins a Bucs backfield that just “led” the league in RB drop rate (~15%).
• In May, HC Bruce Arians said Fournette would be “splitting time” with Ronald Jones. Look for this backfield to remain fluid.
• The Bucs retain the same 11 on offense after re-signing Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski.

Draft Sharks Bottom Line

The Bucs ranked 3rd in scoring last year; 7th in total yards. They’ll run back the entire starting unit this fall.

So the macro environment looks good for Fournette. Pair that with his strong postseason run, and we’ll consider the former Jag the favorite for backfield touches.

It’s just unwise to believe he’ll earn the lead back role and never relinquish it. The Bucs remain high on Ronald Jones. And adding Gio Bernard to the mix further clouds Fournette’s receiving upside.

Ultimately, Fournette looks like no more than a low-end RB2, albeit one that makes sense as a mid-round target for “Zero RB” drafters.