This 23-yard run against the Falcons in Week 16 of the 2019 season is an example of how Fournette can take advantage of personnel and pre-snap motion. Here, he’s aided by receiver Dede Westbrook moving from the “X” position to the backfield, and by right guard A.J. Cann and right tackle Jawaan Taylor pulling to the left and taking out their targets — end Vic Beasley and safety Ricardo Allen. All Fournette has to do is to wait, hit the gap, and go, though the fact that Beasley is able to recover and catch him from behind with an ankle tackle is not a ringing endorsement of Fournette’s explosiveness or power in the open field.
This one-yard run against the Raiders in Week 15 is more indicative of what happens when Fournette doesn’t have a clear path. The lack of an ability to puzzle his way out of a disadvantageous situation speaks to his need for things to be in place if he’s to succeed. If your running back isn’t going to outrun anybody to the edge, and he isn’t going to bust through potential tacklers, what’s the point?
Now, this 66-yard run against the Jets in Week 8 presents the optimal version of Fournette at this point in his career. Here, he’s able to get skinny and time the gap just right against an eight-man box, and it’s off to the races in a relative sense.
And this 81-yard run against the Broncos in Week 4 is as good as it gets from our subject. Here, he shows a bit of juice and agility, and you can see attempts to gain extra yards after contact in the open field. This won’t make anybody forget Marshawn Lynch in his prime or anything, but if this is the Leonard Fournette that is hitting the open market, it’s all good.
The problem is, of course, that you’re also getting the Leonard Fournette with the limited palette and the negative plays.
Fournette isn’t what I would call a disciplined runner — he’s not a sustainer in that you can rely on hallmarks of his style, and it’s clear he needs to learn how to use his 6-foot-0, 228-pound frame for maximum impact. Ideally, he’ll find a new home that places a premium on power running with a diverse set of run schemes, and a need for a back with his skill set (as limited as it may be) in a rotational sense. That could include Baltimore, San Francisco, New England, Seattle, Washington, and Chicago.
As long as you know what you’re getting in Leonard Fournette, and more importantly, what you’re not getting, and Fournette is open to development, his second NFL home could be a more positive environment than his first. No matter where he was drafted, he’s not likely to ever be a feature back again without some serious development and the right environment.