Atlanta Falcons have no need for Leonard Fournette

Running back Leonard Fournette is looking for a home and the Atlanta Falcons aren’t in the market.

Adding Leonard Fournette to the roster doesn’t make the Falcons any better than they are right now. The Falcons have a very good running back room with Todd Gurley, Ito Smith, Qadree Ollison, and Brian Hill. Gurley, Smith, and Hill are exactly the type of running back that their offensive scheme needs – a player that can run between the tackles but more importantly can make plays in the passing game and provide an outlet for Matt Ryan.

They also have Qadree Ollison who is the big shortage yard back you need on the goal line and if we are being honest, Fournette is not an improvement in that area over Ollison.

Last season for the Jaguars, Fournette accounted for every single goal-line run the Jaguars had. In 43 attempts, he had just three touchdowns. Ollison had four goal-line touchdowns as a rookie, and he didn’t play in the first eight games.

It’s not a coincidence that the Falcons went 6-2 in the games that Ollison appeared in and 5-1 in games that he registered at least one carry. His bruising style is exactly what the Falcons need on the goal line and something that they have been missing for quite some time.

We get it, Leonard Fournette is a big name, especially for Falcons fans in SEC country but this is all about fit and he simply does not fit what the Falcons do offensively. In order for Fournette to be successful, he needs to find an offensive that can commit to the run game a lot more than the Atlanta Falcons do.

Besides, the Falcons don’t need to sign every available former first-round picks.

The Atlanta Falcons run game is in good hands.

The Atlanta Falcons run game is in good hands in 2020. Todd Gurley looks as healthy as he has been in a couple of seasons while Ito Smith and Brian Hill seem to continue turning heads in practice and the coaching staff believes that they can be successful with each of them.

If Todd Gurley can be anything close to what he was in 2017 and 2018, the Atlanta Falcons offense will be explosive. Even last season when Gurley’s per carry average dropped by a full yard, he still had 12 rushing touchdowns. Those 12 rushing touchdowns were more than 11 teams had individually in 2019 – including the Falcons who had just 11 rushing touchdowns.

Collectively, the Atlanta Falcons will have one of the best rushing attacks in the NFL this season, and adding Leonard Fournette would not make them any better in that area.