The Buffalo Bills are nearing an agreement to sign free agent running back Leonard Fournette, according to Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report. Fournette will be signed to the practice squad to ramp up for his eventual debut, according to Schultz. How should fantasy football players react to the signing? Let's break it down.
What to expect from Leonard Fournette in Buffalo
The Bills needed to add to their running back room on the heels of Damien Harris's scary neck injury which landed him on Injured Reserve. With James Cook and Latavius Murray being the only two backs to record a carry in the Week 8 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night, getting some additional depth was likely always going to be a priority.
The fact that it's Leonard Fournette should raise some eyebrows in the fantasy world, however. Fournette is a unique talent in that he's a big body who can run between the tackles but is also an incredibly gifted receiver and pass blocker out of the backfield. Fournette was trusted in his last stop with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to protect and provide a safety blanket to Tom Brady at running back, and he did that job beautifully, racking up a whopping 142 receptions over his last two seasons.
Fournette has long been an asset in PPR fantasy football leagues and has shifted the tides of fantasy football playoffs once before. Fournette, or “Lombardi Lenny” if you prefer, tends to save his best performances for late in the year. And if you're adding Fournette to your roster in fantasy football, you're hoping for much of the same, as it may take a while for Fournette to get back in football shape and acclimated to a new team and playbook.
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The Bills face a brutal stretch of schedule where in Week 11-15 they face the Jets, Eagles, Chiefs, and Cowboys defenses. Those pass rushes are going to require someone of size to pick up blitzes and chip defensive ends, which is essentially the role Murray has played for Buffalo this season in two-minute situations and clear passing downs. Despite playing significantly less snaps, Murray has 10 receptions to Cook's 18 for that reason.
At 33 years old, Murray hasn't done a whole lot with his touches this season, averaging just 3.6 yards per attempt and 7.3 yards per catch. Fournette can be viewed as a 1-for-1 replacement for Murray, as Cook has been productive in his role receiving about 15 touches a game. Cook is Pro Football Focus's 12th-ranked RB (out of 53 eligible backs) on the season, so it seems highly unlikely that Fournette is being brought on to replace him. If Cook were to suffer an injury, however, Fournette would leap to solid RB2 status in fantasy football given his ability to both handle goalline touches and catch the ball out of the backfield.
Should you pick up Fournette on your fantasy waiver wire?
Absolutely. Expectations should be kept in check, especially initially, but Fournette should have RB3-type value playing alongside Cook, and would become a very solid RB2 should Cook suffer any injury. Think of Fournette as a solid bench option with upside in an incredibly explosive offense, but understand that Josh Allen is never going to dink and dunk the way Tom Brady did. Mobile quarterbacks prefer to use their own feet more often than not, so Fournette isn't going to see the massive volume of receptions he did in Tampa Bay, as Cook is only on pace for about 40 catches this year.
Fournette is worth an add to see if Buffalo takes some work off Cook's plate, but barring injury, he's mostly a bench stash who will need an injury to be startable in fantasy football each week.
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