Why Chiefs shouldn’t pursue trade for Jaguars RB Leonard Fournette

The Kansas City Chiefs shouldn’t be interested in making a trade for Jacksonville Jaguars RB Leonard Fournette.

Reports have resurfaced that Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette, the former No. 4 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, is on the trading block. I say resurfaced because Fournette was also rumored to be on the trading block after a no-good very bad 2018 season — a season where he missed seven games with an injury and was suspended by the Jacksonville brass for a game.

Let’s not forget that our friends over at For the Win had the Chiefs sending a 2020 third-round pick and a conditional 2021 fourth-round pick for Fournette in a blockbuster trade scenario because of those previous rumors. Now, someone else thinks that Fournette might be best-suited with the Chiefs.

On Sunday, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk suggested that the Chiefs should trade for Fournette. The basis for Florio’s suggestion is two-fold. First that the leading rusher in Kansas City was Damien Williams, who squeaked out a measly 498-yard season as a rusher in a timeshare with Shady McCoy. Compare that to Fournette, the perceived workhorse running back, who rushed for over 1,000 yards for the second time in his career. The second part is that Fournette could be reigned in by players like Tyrann Mathieu and Darrel Williams, who played with him at LSU.

I’m here to refute Florio’s suggestion. No, I’m not one of those “running backs don’t matter” theorists. Trading for Fournette shouldn’t be considered by the Chiefs for a variety of other reasons. Let’s ignore scheme fit and the fact that Fournette is a bruising downhill running back. Instead, let’s start with the myth of the 1,000-yard rusher.

I’d like to see a 1000-yard rusher in this offense, but there is no way that Fournette, or anyone for that matter, will see enough touches in the Chiefs offense for that to happen in 2020. Williams is still in the picture, which means that you’re going to have a committee approach at RB for at least one more season. I’m not here for the disrespect of Williams based on his regular-season statistics. He was a force in the postseason for Kansas City. They don’t win a Super Bowl title without his performance in the playoffs. He also has the trust of his teammates and the coaching staff as the No. 1 guy.

Additionally, for every carry you give Fournette, you’re taking the ball out of Patrick Mahomes’ hands. Who wants to pay in draft capital and cap space to take the ball away from your best player? You’re not going to trade for him to not give him opportunities. It’s just doesn’t seem like a good business decision. You just have to ask, what are you really getting in return when you trade for Fournette?

It’s clear that there’s something happening behind the scenes causing a rift between the Jaguars and Fournette. If part of the argument is that the Chiefs have the locker room to reign in a player, that presumes the player has the disposition and ability to be reigned in. They say winning heals all ailments, but that’s not always the case (see Antonio Brown on the Patriots).

The biggest reason Fournette to Kansas City shouldn’t happen is the bottom line, which is financial commitment and years remaining on the contract. It’d be a different scenario if Fournette wasn’t in the final year of his rookie contract, and didn’t cost $4.1 million. Yes, he has a fifth-year contract option worth a whopping $8.48 million in 2021 too. The Chiefs are about to pay Patrick Mahomes and possibly Chris Jones a ton of money. So the idea of paying $12.6 million over two years and draft capital to acquire a running back is farfetched and almost laughable. It wasn’t too long ago that Kansas City had $177 dollars in salary cap space.

While Kansas City is clearly trying to “run it back” in 2020, Brett Veach said in his pre-draft press conference that the team is looking with an eye toward the future. They’re planning for 3-5 years down the line. It makes much more sense, given their financial needs, to add a cheap and controllable running back in the draft. You’re likely going to get the same production and touches out of that player at a much cheaper price than you would Fournette.