Fantasy Football Today - 🚨 Jaguars Release Leonard Fournette (08/31 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: August 31, 2020

Well, that didn't take long. Sure we thought this was a possibility, but the timing of Leonard Fournette's release seems a bit surprising. So, now what? Which Jaguars RB will step up? Is it the Ryquell Armstead show or will there be a committee? Is Chris Thompson worth drafting and are we moving Gardner Minshew up in the rankings? And what about Fournette? Should he be drafted ahead of the Jaguars RBs? We answer all of those questions and go over all of the RBs that Jacksonville drafted Fournette over in 2017.  Bid on a spot in the 2020 Listeners' League (all proceeds to St. Jude): https://www.ebay.com/itm/373174782775 Listen to the brand new Fantasy Football Today in 5 podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fantasy-football-today-in-5/id1528634304 'Fantasy Football Today' is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Castbox, and wherever else you listen to podcasts. Follow the new FFT Twitch channel: https://www.twitch.tv/FFToday Follow our FFT team on Twitter: @FFToday, @AdamAizer, @JameyEisenberg, @daverichard, @heathcummingssr, @YardsPerGretch, @BenSchragg Watch FFT on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCviK78rIWXhZdFzJ1Woi7Fg/videos Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/FantasyFootballToday/ Sign up for the FFT newsletter https://www.cbssports.com/newsletter To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oh, he's done it again! Now here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, Heath, and Ben. Well, the timing is perhaps a little bit strange, but we spent the whole offseason saying Leonard Fournette's a bust, he's going too early, he might get cut. Didn't think it was going to happen before week one. Welcome to a bonus edition of Fantasy Football Today. Adam Azer, Jamie Isenberg, and Dave Richard.

Wow. Jamie, Leonard Fournette out in Jacksonville. Give me your immediate reaction. You said it. We kind of expected something like this to happen, whether it was going to be a trade or him getting released, but you would have thought it would have happened before training camp. So the timing is just odd that he's made it this far going through practices with a new offensive coordinator in Jay Gruden.

But clearly there's something going on there that they wanted to move on from him. And now it's which backfield is he going to ruin? Because that's the thing that I'm so terrified about right now for the leagues that have already drafted. You know, you could see Chicago with David Montgomery going down and, you know, the depth there with three Cohen as a different kind of guy, the two that scare me Philadelphia and Tampa Bay, especially Philadelphia because Miles Sanders is a first-round pick,

and the lower leg injury week to week, that they've been maybe in search of another guy. And now the rush to see who's going to be the best back in Jacksonville because Chris Thompson is a different kind of running back, and Rykel Armstead and Devine Oh, Zigbo or however you say it. You got it. You know, that's going to be a,

that that's, that's the fun thing. So I know we're going to talk about it a lot, but it's just, it's more about where four net goes and what Jacksonville does. Dave, what's your reaction? Pretty much the exact same thing.

I had actually heard positive things about four net in training camp and how he seems to have bought in and he was the best um early downs running back that they had and i don't know maybe something happened maybe the coaches just finally um convinced dave caldwell to let him go the timing just seems really weird i'm i'm not going to get too excited about any of the running backs left behind in jacksonville obviously if you had taken Rock Armstead with like a round 12 pick, that's great. Stash him, see what happens. I've heard people talk about taking Requel Armstead as early as round six.

I think that's ridiculous. I think that they're going to use multiple backs. I think this solidifies Chris Thompson. Definitely one of those 50 catch type of running backs, just not a lot of carries to go with it. And, oh, Zigbo and James Robinson are two running backs in their backfield that the coaches probably like. And maybe what happened is the coaches saw enough of, um, Robinson.

Robinson had a big opportunity in their scrimmage over the weekend. Um, he played a lot of red zone snaps. He's a physical runner. He, he, Oh Zigbo is too. And both of them, um, I'm not sure what they can do as far as pass catching goes, but Reichwell can as well. And they probably just said, look I'm not sure what they can do as far as pass catching goes, but Reichwell can as well.

And they probably just said, look, we've got some guys that are as good as Fournette. We can save some money by cutting Fournette. I don't know if they'll actually be able to save the money because there's a grievance about his salary for this year, but they probably just had enough of them and they let them go. Uh, Fournette isn't going to be a great fit in any offense that does zone running. He's got to be in a North-south physical type of an offense for him to do well.

I don't know how many of the teams that Jamie mentioned would view Fournette as a good fit for their offense, but they might see him as a warm body who can contribute on the cheap. So that's probably going to be where Fournette ends up is going to be as a part-time running back for this year. Okay, Leonard Fournette was up is going to be as a part-time running back for this year. Okay, Leonard Fournette was a top 10 pick in the NFL draft once upon

a time. Fourth overall. He went ahead of Do you want to hear the whole list of everybody he went ahead of? Well, I was just going to say, he was the fourth overall pick. Rykel Armstead was a fifth round pick, and Devino Zigbo was an undrafted free agent. So if they really think that they're better with those guys, then boy boy what a failure

this isn't about talent this is this is everything else yeah but okay so you so this little reminds me a little bit of duke johnson last year because round six is probably i feel like where people were taking him and that was obviously a huge disappointment. And that was too soon then. It was too soon then, and it's too soon for Armstead now. Okay, so why is that, though? Because who else are they going to give the ball to? Ozigbo had nine carries last year. Armstead only had 35.

When would you take Rykel Armstead, and why isn't he going to get a lot of work? I think we've got to see. There are still some running backs on the market and, you know, some guys are about to get cut. So, you know, that's something that you could see as a potential move Jacksonville makes just to have somebody that's a little bit more seasoned than them that, you know, you're probably here the most is, is Devante Freeman. But, um, if they go with this group,

it the only one that I would really be interested in is Chris Thompson, because I think you're going to see potentially the other three guys with Armstead, Osigbo, and Robinson getting some work. But Thompson is Jay Gruden's guy. Thompson is a guy that's going to be involved in the passing game for a team that's going to be trailing every single week. So that's the one that if you're saying, I want to target, in PPR, that's the guy that I think you look at and he has the potential to be, you don't draft him this way, but he has the potential to be James White and Tariq Cohen and, and, and those types of guys, because we've seen it from him, you know, when he was in Washington and healthy, he was fantastic, but he has a hard time staying healthy, you know, and that's the biggest issue. So, um, he's the one that if you've already drafted and gotten him late, kudos to you. If your draft is still coming up, that's a guy in PPR that I'd be looking at somewhere in the round nine, round 10 range, because I do think that he's going to

catch a ton of passes in this offense that is dealing with the DD Westbrook injury. LaVisca Chanel showed up on the injury report over the weekend. And so, you know, with, with what Jay Gruden's offense is going to be, with the history there, and with what Gardner Minshew showed you last year with 76 catches to, or, excuse me, Minshew and Foles showed you last year, but Fournette with 76 catches. Different offense, but again, you know, quarterbacks that will throw to their running backs, specifically Minshew, who started the majority games.

Do you know who they're going to give the ball to, Adam? They're going to give the ball to Gardner Minshew. This team's throwing 637 times this year. That's the number. That's the past time. And Minshew's moving up. I would move Minshew up with this news. To where?

Let's settle in. I would take him over Cam. I'm taking Gardner Minshew over Cam Newton. I'm going to have some trouble doing it over goth um over daniel jones over rothlisberger but he's he immediately comes to mind as somebody who just a volume quarterback who also will run a little bit okay yeah he i was gonna say he's probably gonna be their leading rusher i don't know if he'll be their leading rusher but he's he's gonna he's gonna have the

ball a lot this year he's gonna he's gonna do a but he's going to have the ball a lot this year. He's going to do a lot. He's going to throw a lot. This is huge for DJ Chark. It's huge for Chenault. I know he got banged up, but he could end up doing some things. They've been raving about Keelan Cole. Yeah.

I mean, we'll see what happens. I don't think you have to draft or stash Keelan Cole at this point. You can always pick him up off the waiver wire, but my guess is that they're going to just feel their way through the run game with Armstead and Ozigbo and maybe Robinson too, but Thompson is the one in PPR that I think you can feel the best about as long as he's on the field, but none of these guys

are useful until round nine at the absolute earliest. Okay. Chris Thompson in the last four seasons, he's been on pace for over 60 catches if. Chris Thompson, the last four seasons, he's been on pace for over 60 catches. You know, if you just look at the last four seasons, but he hasn't played more than 11 games. Or the last three seasons, rather.

It's 10, 10, and 11 games. But he's been on pace for over 60 catches. So that is good for Chris Thompson. Armstead had a bit of an audition in week 17. He was really good in the passing game that week. He had like over 50 yards and a touchdown. And then Zigbo came in, mostly got some garbage time work in that game.

So it does look pretty ugly. It does look pretty messy. Round nine is just, yeah. Here's something that's coming across right now. Michael Duraco covers the Jaguars for ESPN. I don't know if Doug Marone's talking, but he just tweeted, Jaguars coach ESPN. I don't know if Doug Marone is talking, but he just tweeted Jaguars coach.

Doug Marone says, says Leonard Fournette's release is all about what he's seen on field during camp, not locker room issues. He feels like group of young backs behind Fournette can give team better chance to win doing it. Now gives them chance to get rotation figured out. And as you can imagine, I've been texting with Pete Prisco. He says, James Robinson is somebody that's really caught their eye. So it could be Robinson as the that's really caught their eye.

It could be Robinson as the guy maybe leading the way and then working out the rest of the guys. That's again, he's speculating. I know that from what Pete has said, but it sounds like we're starting to get a little bit more answers on this. Again, Duraco, Jaguars coach Doug Marone also said team exhausted all their

chances to try and trade Fournette. He was on the trading block before the draft, but nothing developed. Clearly nothing developed since either. So there you go. Okay. So let's wrap this up. Who's the first Jaguars running back you're drafting and when, and okay, well, let's start. Who's the first one you're drafting?

I mean, I said it already. Chris Thompson, you know, round eight, I think would be a spot that I would consider depending on how backs are coming off the board. Thompson and PPR around nine Armst. Thompson and PPR round nine. Armstead, non-PPR round nine. Okay, compare them, let's say, Armstead or a Dolphins running back. Oh, both Dolphins. Miami Dolphins.

Miami Dolphins. Are you going to take Alexander Madison, Chase Edmonds, Latavius Murray over Rykel Armstead? I absolutely would if I had the starters in front of them and I wanted to do the old insurance policy handcuff two-step Beru. Okay.

And would you take Chris Thompson in PPR or James White? Oh, White. Yeah. Okay. Would you take Matt Breida or Chris Thompson? Still Breida. All right.

And are you going to move DJ Chark up in your rankings? It's hard to think about it. What, Jamie? It's hard what? It's hard for me to get him higher. I mean, right around 20 for me. That's about where he'll settle. Oh, my God.

I'm thinking around four. So I think there's not much more he can get to. The next guy I was thinking about moving him ahead of would be Odell Beckham. Wow. I don't know if I'm ready to do that. Odell Beckham and Amari Cooper, I think, are the two next guys. All right, listen. And the right guys to move him over.

I know people don't like when I give my opinion sometimes. I'm just going to say the Jaguars are going to be really bad. I thought about it. I think they're going to be really bad. I think, again, that's why you want Thompson and maybe just let the rest of it fade by the wayside. Go to Vegas right now. Put your money on the overwind total. Adam thinks the Jaguars

are going to be bad. They are the heavy favorites for the number one pick. They are arable. Yeah, it's going to be bad, especially when they sign somebody else and you get ruined by anybody that you just drafted. So don't take the backup guy. Just take Thompson. That's the only one you should draft.

Don't take Armstead. Don't take Robinson. Don't take Ozigbo. Just take Thompson. And don't drop Fournette. I know people are going to say... Oh, wait. When do we draft Fournette? How could I not ask that question? When would you draft Fournette? I'm taking Fournette. I might take, no, I don't know if I'm necessarily taking him ahead of all the Jaguars running backs. Oh, for sure you're taking him ahead of the Jaguars running backs, not named Thompson and PPR.

Why? Because I think there's like small chance he becomes a starter. If he goes to a team that does not have a solid starter in front of them. Name one team. Name one team. FFA. They've got a solid starter in front of them? Name one team. Name one team. Tampa Bay. They've got a solid starter. They do for now.

Philadelphia, you could see a mess there. Chicago, you could see a mess there. I mean, there are teams where you could see it getting messy. I'm not hoping for it, but I mean, you can see it. I feel like someone needs to be seriously hurt in order for Fournette to get a game. Well, okay, you have Philadelphia and Chicago, two guys that are hurt.

Are they seriously hurt? There's talk that they're going to be ready to go? Montgomery hurt his groin, so yes, he's seriously hurt. To what extent and how long he's out, that's a different conversation, but he's seriously hurt that he's missing time. And the fact that Miles Sanders is week to week, I mean, that's not good. I think Chicago would be a good

fit for him, for Fournette, as far as just now they could have a two-headed early downs back with Montgomery and they can let Montgomery heal up a little bit and Fournette can play. But I don't think there's a scenario out there where Fournette falls into a workload of 225 touches this year right now, which is why you can't draft him. He's like a round 10 flyer. That's it. Yeah. Yeah's it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, you know,

round eight at the earliest if you're speculating just, you know, with the hope that he signs somewhere. But the thing, imagine if Bill O'Brien just went for the Jaguars like a fourth round pick and kept DeAndre Hopkins

like a smug. It's crazy. All right, guys. Thank you so much. He wouldn't have to. He could have just waited until the Jaguars cut Fournette. That's chess. That would have been the chess move.

He still might go get Fournette. They can't. You know, I also wouldn't rule out is Cincinnati. As insurance for Mixon? They really like Travion. Let's not even, guys. Let's not even do this because we're going to do another bonus podcast

whenever he's signed somewhere. So just everybody sit tight. I got one more that might really make you puke, though. Okay. Pittsburgh. I'd be surprised. I would be too at this point. That's a team that's not going to take on a headache.

They're too smart. Yeah, but if they want to have good reliable depth, could be something. They should have reliable depth at this point with Snell and McFarlane, I'd say. Oh, they're definitely comfortable with them, but there was one point where there was some speculation.

I hope he goes to the Jets. Just make it. Now that would be something. I mean, hey, they just lost Kalen Balazs. Now that would be something. Just go. I mean, hey, they just lost Kalen Balazs. Right. I know.

Add Fournette to that mix. How do you recover from that? What a room that would be. Oh, boy. Frank Gore would be like, oh, get me to Mount Rushmore. Frank Gore retires. Okay, guys. That's it.

That's our bonus pod. Jaguars. Wait, you don't want to hear all the names that the Jaguars passed up for Fournette? Go ahead. Christian McCaffrey, Dalvin Cook, Joe Mixon, Alvin Kamara, Kareem Hunt, James Conner, Tariq Cohen, Marlon Mack, Aaron Jones, Chris Carson, Austin Eckler. Nice job,

Jackson. That was a great running back class. Wow. Do you know that in the startup Dynasty League that the team we share Adam, which has just been an absolute monster since this league started, and the reason it's been an absolute monster is because i had the second pick in the rookie draft and the first pick was leonard fournette the second pick was christian mccaffrey wow man who could have seen this coming okay that's it for our bonus podcast thank you everybody for listening thank you all for listening to fantasy football today in five go subscribe to

that podcast we've got another episode coming up later today where we'll get some more takes on Fournette and see what's developing there. And we've got a lot more for you, obviously, as well. Email us, fantasyfootballatcbsi.com and we'll see you later.