Leonard Fournette Fantasy Outlook Salvaged by Signing With Buccaneers

One day after clearing waivers following his release from the Jacksonville Jaguars, Leonard Fournette has found a new home in Florida with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

This is one of the best landing spots possible for Fournette's 2020 fantasy football outlook, and it's a big blow to Ronald Jones, Ke'Shawn Vaughn and Dare Ogunbowale.

Leonard Fournette Fantasy Outlook

Fournette's fantasy football value with the Jacksonville Jaguars relied almost entirely on the potential for big volume, but landing in a Tampa offense that promises to be one of the best in the league (ranked No. 4 with 28.6 points per game last year before adding Tom Brady), that changes drastically.

To start with, Fournette isn't likely to average 17.7 carries and 6.7 targets per game like he did last year. Making up for that, however, is that he also has the upside for a huge increase in touchdowns after scoring just 3 in 2019.

It remains to be seen whether Fournette will be a true three-down workhorse in a stable that includes three other RBs who were originally projected to be involved in 2020, but he should have no trouble establishing himself as the clear lead back over a group that has a combined 779 rushing and 628 receiving yards at the NFL level. Being the lead back in a high-powered offense should mean increased efficiency with plenty of TD upside.

Going off the board with an average draft position (ADP) of RB22 before his release, per FantasyPros, Fournette should be downgrade some because of the competition for touches, but he remains a mid-round pick.

Ronald Jones Fantasy Outlook

A 2018 second-round pick, Ronald Jones finally appeared poised for a breakout season in 2020. Suddenly he's playing second fiddle to Fournette on rushing downs and may be the No. 3 option (behind Fournette and Ogunbowale) on passing downs.

There's still a chance he carves out a committee role spelling Fournette some on early downs, but at this point Jones is unlikely to be worth starting in fantasy unless Fournette gets hurt.

Ke'Shawn Vaughn Fantasy Outlook

Vaughn's outlook is now pretty similar to Jones', except with his potential volume including a bit more receiving work. He's unlikely to beat out Ogunbowale (46 targets in 2019) as the primary receiving back though, and it's not like Fournette (76 receptions with the Jags in 2019) isn't a receiving threat either.

Dare Ogunbowale Fantasy Outlook

Ogunbowale was already a bit of a fantasy football afterthought because of his one-dimensional numbers. He saw just 11 carries compared to 46 targets in 2019, and he didn't project to take any volume away from Jones or Vaughn on early downs this year.

We can expect even less rushing volume now, and Fournette's three-down potential cuts into whatever limited fantasy value Ogunbowale's receiving work did provide.

If you already drafted and were blindsided by Fournette's release, this is one of the best landing spots you could ask for.

If you haven't drafted yet, be sure to downgrade Jones, Vaughn and Ogunbowale in your ranks significantly. You can expect Fournette's volume to drop, but an increase in TD potential and efficiency in a far superior offense should make up for that to maintain a viable fantasy outlook.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.