Leaner Fournette rolls into Jags camp
JACKSONVILLE — Before his arrival for mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, Leonard Fournette hadn’t been on the practice field with his teammates for three weeks.
That didn’t stop him from working, though.
And it was clearly noticeable on his first day back as he easily went through individual and team drills without appearing winded.
Near the end of practice, Fournette raced toward the front during sprints among the offensive players.
Fournette said he missed nearly all of the team’s voluntary organized team activity workouts because of a family situation that needed his attention in New Orleans, his hometown.
“I spent a lot of time with my family and kids,” Fournette said. “It was good and I’m happy to be back with the team and keep moving forward.”
Though he missed the final nine organized team activity sessions, Fournette said he remained in contact with several of his teammates.
All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey missed the entire voluntary offseason program to work out with his father in Nashville, Tenn.
“We were texting each other in group messages making sure we were running and working out,” Fournette said. “We came back and killed the conditioning test. It really depends on what you do with your time. You can stay home, rest, or whatever, but a lot of guys who weren’t here worked out.”
Veteran defensive tackle Malik Jackson said all of the team’s younger players should have participated in the team’s voluntary offseason program.
“It took me six years to be able to say like I’m going to miss (an OTA workout),” Jackson said. “You have guys like Calais (Campbell), Brandon Linder and myself who are here. I think it shows these young guys that maybe I should be here, too. I think being here builds a command for respect. You don’t have to come in here and say I demand respect because you’ve been here. These young guys that don’t have their second contract yet should be here.”
Marrone said all 90 players on the roster reported for three-day minicamp that concludes on Thursday. The Jaguars can impose fines to any player that skips the mandatory practices.
Fournette showed up looking considerably leaner than he did last season when he rushed for 1,040 yards, the secondmost by a rookie in franchise history.
“I feel lighter and quicker and I have a lot of my burst,” said Fournette, who is listed at 228 pounds on the Jaguars’ minicamp roster. “I don’t want to be average. I want to be above average, to be the greatest one to play this game.”
Fournette wants his desired playing weight for this upcoming season to be around 224 pounds or less, which he said was his playing weight at LSU.
Behind Fournette, the Jaguars led the NFL in rushing last season averaging 141.4 yards per game. The Jaguars are committed again to building their offense around Fournette and the running game, especially after upgrading their offensive line by signing guard Andrew Norwell to a five-year, $66-million free agent deal in March.
“Again, Leonard is a playmaker, so we’re trying to get him on the field as much as we can and keep pushing him over to third down and things of that nature,” Marrone said.
“I thought he did a very good job at the end of the year in the protection phase of things — really stepping up there with blitzing linebackers and really taking them on. He showed great growth in his first year from that because that’s usually the toughest thing.”