The Jacksonville Jaguars tried desperately to trade star running back Leonard Fournette during the 2020 NFL Draft. While they struggled to find any takers, there is a chance the Miami Dolphins could reportedly get involved in a deal for Fournette.
During an appearance on SportsCenter, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler shared that the Dolphins are a team to watch during the remainder of the offseason for a potential Fournette trade. In fact, it’s one of the few fits many around the league could potentially see for a deal.
“A few people around the league believe, Miami could eventually ramp up in the Fournette discussion,” Fowler said, via ESPN (H/T The Phinsider). “Now, they filled a bunch of needs in the draft, didn’t get a running back. They liked D’Andre Swift, the running back out of Georgia, that was the word, but they couldn’t get position for him in round two.”
The lack of interest in Fournette from across the league isn’t surprising. After spending the No. 4 overall pick on him in 2017, the Jaguars seem to have grown tired from the myriad of issues Fournette caused the organization.
Fournette caused friction in the locker room by suggesting the team sign Cam Newton this offseason. Earlier in his career, he nearly fought an opponent in the tunnel and the team is tired of his poor work ethic.
Jacksonville could have looked past some of the behavioral issues if he produced more consistently. He is averaging just four yards per carry across his first three seasons and has proven to be ineffective as a runner and struggled to stay on the field. Fournette also isn’t reliable in the passing game, demonstrated by the fact he needed 100 targets this past season to rack up 522 receiving yards.
Set to become a free agent at the end of the season, a change of scenery might benefit Fournette. Although, his game doesn’t exactly complement Jordan Howard’s style as both aren’t often factors in the passing attack.
The best-case scenario for Jacksonville might be landing a Day 3 pick from the Dolphins in a trade for Fournette. For now, it seems likely that Fournette and the Jaguars will be stuck with each other through the offseason.