Love him or not, it appears Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette will be the team’s No. 1 running back heading into 2020 and they need him to come up big. As a former top-4 selection, the Jags clearly felt he’d be a primary weapon for the team, and with jobs potentially on the line they need him to play like an elite draft selection more than ever.

Someone who would know about the pressure that comes with being a running back for a smash-mouth team is Jags great Maurice Jones-Drew, who now is an NFL.com analyst. The former Jags pro bowler recently put together a list ranking each NFL’s team’s No. 1 running backs. Unfortunately, Fournette didn’t crack the top-10, but he did land within the top-13.

13. Leonard Fournette, Jacksonville Jaguars

2019 stats: 15 games | 265 att | 1,152 rush yds | 4.3 ypc | 3 rush TDs | 76 rec | 522 rec yds | 0 rec TDs

Fournette bounced back last season after a down 2018, but he wasn’t used much in the red zone. With the addition of offensive coordinator Jay Gruden, I expect Fournette, whose fifth-year option wasn’t picked up, to get plenty of touches in an effort to protect QB Gardner Minshew and help set up big-play opportunities off play-action. One thing I know for sure is that it’s imperative that the Jags get their bell cow going if they want to have any type of success this season.

It appears Fournette’s lack of trips to the end-zone hurt him here, but had that not been an issue, he definitely would’ve cracked the top-10.

With Jay Gruden as the Jags new coordinator, it’s possible Fournette could get about the same amount of carries he did in 2019 (265), as Gruden has had several rushers accumulate 250-plus carries like Adrian Peterson, Cedric Benson, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, and Alfred Morris. However, it’s worth noting the Jags have several new offensive pass-catchers, too, who could collectively take carries from Fournette. Still, fans should like Fournette’s chances to get over 1,000 yards and double his touchdown total of three from 2019.

As pointed out by Jones-Drew, Fournette will also be motivated by his fifth-year option being declined, and when adding in the fact that other teams will be evaluating him as a pending free-agent, fans shouldn’t discount him. Of course, that would improve the offense in general and possibly make them a top-10 rushing unit again.