The Jacksonville Jaguars are reportedly shopping Leonard Fournette ahead of the 2020 NFL Draft. Following the reports, ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio suggests that the Kansas City Chiefs could pursue Fournette in a trade.
The Chiefs boast one of the best passing attacks in the NFL under Andy Reid. With Patrick Mahomes manning the offense, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill help form a nearly unstoppable trio through the air.
However, as good as Kansas City's offense is, they could be even better with improved running back play. Just this past season, the Chiefs deployed a backfield that featured Damien Williams and LeSean McCoy.
Williams would lead the team in rushing with only 498 yards on the ground. Despite his inconsistent production in the regular season, Williams would be a crucial piece in Kansas City's Super Bowl run, scoring two touchdowns in the Super Bowl.
Even though the Chiefs retained Williams this offseason, they could be in the market to add another running back. Would it make sense for that running back to be Fournette though?
As of this moment, the Chiefs are limited in cap space, having barely enough money to pay their incoming rookies. With that in mind, Fournette carries an $8.6 million cap hit in 2020. On the other hand, whoever trades for Fournette would have the chance to pick up his fifth-year option for 2021.
Given the state of running backs, Kansas City would be better off drafting a running back. By adding a rookie, the Chiefs would have control of the running back for more years than Fournette.
Above all, a rookie running back would cost significantly cheaper than Fournette's rookie contract. Nevertheless, Florio likely isn't alone in thinking that the Chiefs would be an ideal fit for Fournette.
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