Leonard Fournette is coming off of a rough 2018 season.
After crossing the 1,000-yard mark as a rookie, injuries and a suspension limited him to eight games and he only averaged 3.3 yards per carry when he was on the field. Between that performance and the arrival of a new quarterback in Nick Foles, no one would have been too surprised if the Jaguars wanted to limit Fournette’s significance to the 2019 offense.
That’s not the way things are going, however. The Jaguars didn’t bring in anyone to threaten Fournette’s starting spot and offensive coordinator John DeFilippo said on Thursday that the plan still involves a lot of the 2018 first-round pick.
“We’re really looking forward to Leonard having a big year,” DeFilippo said, via the team’s website. “I’m going to call it what it is: He’s going to be a major reason where our offense goes. I’m not going to sugarcoat that. Leonard Fournette needs to be a big part of this offense. The harder he works -- which he is right now -- that’s going to be not only good for our offense, but good for our team.”
There are plenty of people in Jacksonville in need of a rebound after a 5-11 2018 season, but Fournette may be at the top of the list.