Ronald Jones COVID Update Solidifies Leonard Fournette Fantasy Outlook for Week 16 Championship

Fantasy managers who have been counting on Ronald Jones this season have been burned in the playoffs. He missed Week 15 on the COVID/Reserve list, and he's not expected to return in Week 16.

That obviously crushes his fantasy outlook for championship weekend, but it also gives Leonard Fournette's value a nice boost.

Ronald Jones likely out for Bucs Saturday against Lions https://t.co/d7Q8X1ayqc
— Sports by Tampa Bay Times (@TBTimes_Sports) December 22, 2020

Jones' workload has been up-and-down this season. In his final four games before landing on the COVID/Reserve list, he had 18-plus carries twice and 10 or fewer carries twice. However, with averages of 13.8 carries and 3.2 targets per game on the year, his absence certainly opens up plenty of opportunity in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers backfield.

Leonard Fournette Fantasy

We saw this in Week 15, when Fournette racked up 19 opportunities (14 carries plus 5 targets) while playing 66% of the team's offensive snaps.

Fournette hasn't been especially efficient this year (and he averaged just 3.5 yards per rush in Week 15), but he still scored 2 touchdowns and finished with 21.5 PPR fantasy points last week.

His efficiency should also get a boost in Week 16 with a matchup against the Detroit Lions. Detroit ranks No. 30 in Football Outsiders' defensive DVOA metric (including No. 26 against the run), and they have allowed the league's most PPR fantasy points per game to opposing running backs.

If Jones does sit this week, Fournette is a must-start fantasy option.

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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.