Fantasy Football Player Notes

I know Leonard Fournette had a strong finish to the season while Jones was hurt, but we mustn't forget that Jones averaged 5.14 yards per carry and nearly hit 1,000 rushing yards despite finishing with just 192 carries. There are just eight running backs in the post-merger era who've finished with as many yards as Jones did with 192 or less carries. He's not going to be heavily utilized in the passing game, which severely caps his upside, but Jones is the Bucs best ball carrier.

It's easy to recall the good times Fournette had in the playoffs and use that as a reason to move him up draft boards, but don't let a couple games spoil what was a very mediocre season. He finished with more than 52 rushing yards just once all year, and that came in Week 2 against the Panthers. Fournette's primary source of fantasy points in 2020 was via the passing game, as he saw 47 targets in 13 games. Unfortunately, the Bucs added Gio Bernard, who's a much better receiver out of the backfield. Knowing that Bernard is the more reliable third-down option and that Ronald Jones is probably the better two-down option, that leaves Fournette in no man's land. He's not someone you're going to want to start every week.

Some are expecting Bernard to come in and play a big role on passing downs for the Bucs, though it's tough to see where that's coming from after the team re-signed Leonard Fournette. While Ronald Jones was the best early-down back for that team last year, Fournette was the primary passing-down back. Sure, Bernard is better in that role, but then why re-sign Fournette? Whatever the case, Bernard is going to be nothing more than a third-down back who might help during bye weeks in PPR formats.