Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette had an incredible 2019 season. However, the superstar was also surrounded by some drama.
It was nothing bad about Fournette, simply the whole situation surrounding the team. The Jaguars seemed pretty set on parting ways with a bunch of their talent. Especially the high-end pieces. And that caused the players that remained to be upset.
It was pretty well known that Fournette wasn't exactly thrilled with everything going on and with the direction that the team was heading in. And it made a lot of people speculate that he was going to be on his way out.
However, as we get closer to the 2020 NFL season, Fournette is still on the Jaguars. And Jacksonville is poised to have him in a prime role.
What exactly does the year hold for the running back? Let's take a look into the few and make three bold predictions for Fournette in the 2020 NFL season.
Plays for Jacksonville the Full Season
This is the big one, and it sets up the rest of the predictions. Fournette doesn't seem too thrilled to be there. But he's already said that he's going to play harder than anyone no matter where he is.
Fournette is coming off his best season in 2019. And he's clearly hungry to continue proving himself.
Meanwhile, the Jaguars might not be great this year, but they aren't exactly giving up. So keeping Fournette might be in their plans. Especially if they decide they want to try and sign him to a new deal. Who knows, maybe they believe he's the first big piece for their new offense.
With that in mind, Fournette will not get traded. And he's not about to refuse to play. He wants to keep rolling. Due to that, he'll play the entire season in Jacksonville.
Sets New Personal Rushing Mark
Jacksonville might not be ready to let Fournette go. However, they will probably be thinking that he might not be returning.
So that might cause the Jaguars to decide to sort of run the running back into the ground. Remember what the Pittsburgh Steelers did with Le'Veon Bell? Think right along those lines.
The Jaguars have a serious weapon that might not be there in 2021. So why not use him as much as physically possible in 2020?
Then consider the fact that Fournette set new career-highs in rushing yards (1,152) and yards per carry (4.3) in 2019. Clearly, he's hitting his stride and starting to reach his potential in the NFL.
So we might see prime Fournette in 2020, and that prime athlete getting more touches than he's ever gotten before. That's a recipe for well over 1,152 yards. Not only will he hit a new personal rushing mark, but he could also absolutely crush it.
Sets Multiple Personal Receiving Marks
This is in the same lane. Fournette is going to be heavily used in 2020. And that counts in the receiving game.
Heading into 2019, Fournette had just 58 receptions for 487 yards in his career. Last season he had 76 receptions. And he added a career-best 522 receiving yards to boot.
Now he's going to see even higher usage. And he'll be doing it on a team with Gardner Minshew as well.
Minshew showed some nice promise in 2019. He's still a young quarterback with a lot of growing to do, though. So they will probably want to use Fournette and the other running backs as a crutch.
Keep the playbook simple and let the quarterback get some easy completions as he grows and improves. This will help get his confidence up and boost the numbers a little bit.
Fournette is set for a massive year in 2020 for multiple reasons. And staying with the Jaguars could maximize his numbers, creating the best season of his career.
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