Leonard Fournette

Workhorse Uncle Lenn is back to trigger the haters in 2022. In Weeks 4-14, Leonard Fournette played less than 61% of the team's snaps in only two games. Over that stretch, he averaged 19.7 touches and 103 total yards per game as the RB5 in fantasy. Fournette was also fantastic in the passing game. In that sample, he led all running backs in targets (63) and was fourth in receiving yards (344). Rachaad White might be his heir apparent, but Tampa Bay has Super Bowl aspirations, and it's difficult to envision Tom Brady trusting a rookie in the backfield to protect him.

It's been a long journey for Leonard Fournette from his last days as "Fat Lenny" with the Jacksonville Jaguars earning the moniker "Lombardi Lenny" due to his brilliant play for Tampa Bay the last year and a half.

He impressed the Buccaneers' front office - and a certain No. 12 quarterback - enough to earn a fat three-year deal with his old team worth $21 million up to $24 million. There's zero doubt with his performance and contract that he will be the entrenched clear-cut starter for the Bucs, and that's exactly the desired outcome for fantasy football.

Fournette ranked fifth in fantasy points and fourth in expected fantasy points per game before his Week 15 injury, leading all running in receptions (62). Upon his return to the lineup for the Buccaneers' playoff matchup against the Los Angeles Rams, Fournette reclaimed bell-cow duties, playing 86% of Tampa Bay's offensive snaps to go with 22 touches for 107 yards from scrimmage.

With an all-encompassing skill set at just 27 years old, Fournette possesses easy top-10 running back fantasy appeal. He slides inside my early 2022 running back rankings as RB8 because a fantasy RB1 is exactly what he has been in the Tom Brady-led offense.

8/2: Reportedly in much better shape & looking like the clear No.1 in camp. I still won't likely land him in many drafts, as I prefer the backs ahead of him -- but I can't have him as low as I had.


7/19: Already was way lower than ECR on Lenny & now he shows up @ 260 llbs, much to the chagrin of Brady?! Rachaad White is a stud and Lenny will have much stiffer competition, especially if he doesn't improve his conditioning.

5/2: Was the RB4 as a true bellcow, and now Ronald Jones is gone, paving even more potential volume. HOWEVER - Rookie Rachaad White is lauded for his receiving skills & Fournette's 84 tgts were a major reason for his blow-up -- the RB Coach also berated Lenny as a pass-catcher, they take the top 2022 pass-catching RB... huge downgrade IMO + he's reportedly out of shape, which is always a concern with Lenny

The stories about "fat Lenny" have been greatly over exaggerated. He came into camp a little over-weight, but unlike his tenure in Jacksonville, he was practicing during mini-camp. He was notorious for not being focused in the off-season before playing with Tom Brady, but he seems well aware of Brady's expectations since joining the Bucs. Fournette was second among running backs in receptions per game (4.9) and tied for third in targets per route run on first down (29%) in 2021 per @jagibbs_23. Concerns that Rachad White may cut into Fournette's receiving production seem unwarranted at this point, Brady really needs to be able to trust his guys before they consistently see playing time.

Has 4 seasons of 15+ PPR FPPG in past 5 years - only Alvin Kamara has more among RBs in that span

Fournette had a breakout year in Tampa Bay with 1,266 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns before suffering a hamstring injury and missing the final two games of the fantasy season. Fournette just signed a new contract with Tampa Bay and if he is used the same way, he should be a RB2 with RB1 upside.