{"id":93863,"date":"2020-08-31T10:18:33","date_gmt":"2020-08-31T14:18:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/?p=93863"},"modified":"2020-08-31T10:40:41","modified_gmt":"2020-08-31T14:40:41","slug":"fantasy-football-fallout-leonard-fournette-ryquell-armstead-chris-thompson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2020\/08\/31\/fantasy-football-fallout-leonard-fournette-ryquell-armstead-chris-thompson\/","title":{"rendered":"Fantasy Football Fallout: Leonard Fournette, Ryquell Armstead, Chris Thompson"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a> made waves on Monday, releasing running back Leonard Fournette<\/a><\/strong>. This leaves several fantasy owners wondering what to do with Fournette, and it puts Ryquell Armstead<\/a><\/strong> and Chris Thompson<\/a> <\/strong>atop the Jacksonville backfield. Let\u2019s break down what to do with Fournette, and what fantasy football owners can expect from the remaining parts of Jacksonville\u2019s backfield.<\/p>\n

It’s also worth noting that former undrafted free agent\u00a0Devine Ozigbo<\/strong> could also steal the starting job, although it would be an uphill battle for him.<\/p>\n

Fantasy Football Player Profiles<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Leonard Fournette, Ryquell Armstead, Chris Thompson Fantasy Football Outlook<\/h2>\n

Leonard Fournette<\/h3>\n

Nobody should have been drafting Fournette at his old ADP, but what\u2019s done is done. Now, fantasy owners everywhere need to find out what to do with their running back. Fournette was the RB7 last season and had some positive touchdown regression coming his way. However, the biggest reason for his third-round ADP was the complete lack of competition. In 2019, Fournette played in a staggering 82.9% of the offensive snaps, far more than enough to offset his terrible rushing and receiving efficiency.<\/p>\n

No matter where he lands, that opportunity isn\u2019t going to be around any longer. As an actual player, Fournette hasn\u2019t done anything to prove that he\u2019s a starting-caliber running back since entering the league. The Jaguars reportedly couldn\u2019t even get a seventh-round pick for his services, so he\u2019s staring down a backup job.<\/p>\n

That said, there are a few landing spots that could lead to fantasy relevance. The Philadelphia Eagles currently have Miles Sanders<\/a><\/strong> slated to be the workhorse back, but that could change with Fournette available. Philadelphia flirted with Devonta Freeman<\/a><\/strong> and Carlos Hyde<\/a><\/strong> in free agency, and Doug Pederson<\/a><\/strong> has a history of using a committee approach in his backfield. If Fournette lands here, he could be a decent flex play. Ditto for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team with Ronald Jones<\/a><\/strong> and not much else.<\/p>\n

Fournette has no value right now in any format. While it\u2019s not great news to hear, Fournette owners should hold for now and make a decision once he has a new team.<\/p>\n

Ryquell Armstead<\/h3>\n

With Fournette out of town, Ryqell Armstead should be the primary early-down running back. The former seventh-round pick played in just 13.8% of the offensive snaps last year, so it\u2019s hard to know exactly how he\u2019ll perform at the NFL level. That said, the Jaguars wouldn\u2019t have released Fournette if they weren\u2019t confident that Armstead could adequately do the job.<\/p>\n

Coming out of college, Armstead projected as a solid between-the-tackles runner that won\u2019t make much of a difference in the passing game. The Draft Network said<\/a> his worst trait was pass-blocking, and the folks at PFF tend to agree. According to their grading, Armstead ended the season with an atrocious 43.0 pass blocking grade on an admittedly small sample of 11 snaps.<\/p>\n

Armstead is going to see a high percentage of the early-down work, and that will make him a flex-worthy play. However, this will be a low-scoring offense. Touchdowns are going to be hard to come across, and Jacksonville\u2019s terrible defense means that Gardner Minshew<\/a><\/strong> and company should be throwing a lot. You\u2019re going to want the pass-catching running back, which means\u2026<\/p>\n

Chris Thompson<\/h3>\n

Say what you will about Chris Thompson\u2019s talent, but he is in the perfect situation to thrive. The biggest reason for Fournette\u2019s RB7 finish was the unexpected increase in passing volume. Last year, the running back received a staggering 100 targets. He was horribly inefficient with said targets, but that didn\u2019t matter since the volume was so high.<\/p>\n

Thompson thrives as a receiving back and would\u2019ve stolen this job from Fournette, even if he was still in town. Offensive coordinator Jay Gruden<\/strong> and Thompson have a long history together, and Jacksonville\u2019s lack of receiving options combined with Minshew\u2019s penchant for checkdowns means that he should be a featured part of the offense as long as he\u2019s on the field.<\/p>\n

However, staying on the field is an issue for Thompson. He hasn\u2019t played a full season since 2016 and averages just 10.3 games played per season since 2017. He\u2019ll probably get hurt at some point, but he should be a solid flex play when on the field.<\/p>\n

Fantasy Football Player Profiles<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Main photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>