It had been a rough road so far for anyone wanting to invest fantasy stocks in Ronald Jones. The beginning of 2020 was no exception.
With Jones ready to take the reigns as lead back, the Bucs brought in Leonard Fournette to bring that momentum to a screeching halt. But after Lenny rolled his ankle in week 3, the door opened for Ronny to show that he could in fact thrive in the pro game.
RoJo Has (Seemingly) Arrived
It was only two weeks ago, after the Buccaneers’ 20-19 loss to the Bears, that coach Bruce Arians said this about Ronald Jones:
“I don’t have any trouble handing him the ball 20-25 times and throwing it five or six times. He can handle that.”
Jones backed up his coach’s words that next week against the Packers, logging his third straight 100-yard rushing performance. It seemed that even after Fournette got back in the fold, Jones had cemented quite an alpha role in Tampa’s backfield.
Eh, not so much. After week 7 against the Raiders, Fournette out-snapped RoJo, and out-targeted him seven to two. And maybe having to play garbage time or catch-up could help explain the usage, but the Bucs took a 14-10 lead in the 2nd quarter and never looked back.
#Bucs 1st Half RB Usage
– Leonard Fournette, 69% snaps, 5 carries, 6 targets
– Ronald Jones, 31% snaps, 7 carries, 1 targetThis is what’s so frustrating about RoJo
— Michael F. Florio (@MichaelFFlorio) October 25, 2020
Fournette also out-touched Jones four to two in goal-to-go situations.
Empty Words From Bruce Arians?
Arians wasn’t shy about complimenting Jones and his continuing growth in the offense when speaking after the week 5 Bears game. But in week 7, it didn’t matter. This, coming from a coach who had a reputation for being a “straight shooter,” or at least as much of one as you can expect from NFL coaches. I guess that reputation got shredded up after that Bears game though…
Bruce Arians asked if Tom Brady knew what down it was: "Yeah, he knew. He knew." #Bucs
— Grace Remington (@GraceRemiTV) October 9, 2020
Let’s welcome Tampa Bay back into the land of frustrating RB committees, one whose lead-back role any given week could turn into a complete toss-up. For now, it looks like Arians still gives Fournette a slight nod over Jones, even after recognizing RoJo’s growth.
Will The Wolf agree? Check it out when he adjusts our Rest Of Season Big Board And Rankings this and every Monday, on Youtube, Facebook, and Periscope.
