Buccaneers Leonard Fournette Snubbed By NFL Personnel

How a group of more than 50 league coaches, executives and scouts got it so, so wrong

Where does Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette rank on your list of the best in the NFL for 2022?

If you’re a league coach, scout, or executive who responded to ESPN’s recent survey to identify the top 10 players in each position group, then he doesn’t. 

At least, he doesn’t get any top 10 votes. Not one.

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At the top of the list is a star-studded collection of the most explosive and some of the most consistent backs in the game today.

Derrick Henry (Tennessee Titans) is a beast when on the field and Jonathan Taylor (Indianapolis Colts) was an MVP candidate at one point. So seeing them one and two don’t cause much flinching.

I’m fact, it’s not until you get to spot seven (Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers) or later where the eyebrows start to rise a little.

For me, the real trouble starts at No. 9 and Aaron Jones of the Green Bay Packers.

Don’t get me wrong, Jones is talented. We are splitting hairs over top 10 rankings after all.

But there’s a quote from one of the voters that didn’t quite fit why this person voted Jones in the top 10 but left Fournette out.

"Versatility -- he does a lot of stuff for [the Packers]," one NFC executive told ESPN. "The offense is better when he is in there. He really boosts their passing game and is really good getting out on the edge or making something happen with screens."

Perhaps Jones is better at attacking the edge than Fournette who is better off running north and south. 

But when you look at the stat comparisons you see that Fournette not only contributed more rushing yards to his team than Jones but also had more receiving yards. 

Each man scored 10 touchdowns in 2021, but the kicker for me is, that Jones played one more game than Fournette.

So despite having better rushing and receiving numbers - showing versatility - in one fewer game played, Jones makes the top 10 over Fournette.

But this isn’t even the worse of it. Fournette isn’t listed in the survey’s honorable mentions either, or in the group, “also receiving votes.”

So who did?

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Among others, New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley was an honorable mention.

The same back who has played fewer games in the last two seasons than Fournette played in the 2021 campaign alone.

Another running back getting top 10 votes from the surveyed group? Antonio Gibson of the Washington Commanders.

The same back that led all of them in fumbles, just last season. 

From snubbed to disrespected, to downright neglected. It’s clear this group of coaches, scouts, and executives don’t like Fournette to a level that extends beyond the field.

Because he fits the criteria used to justify being named to any of the three subgroups above any of the backs mentioned.

They probably also hate the fact Fournette has found second-breath success with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Which you can plainly see just by looking at the diamonds on his Super Bowl LV ring. 

For more on this and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers check out James Yarcho and David Harrison on the Locked On Bucs Podcast!