Jacksonville Jaguars - Fantasy News

Who to Start: Leonard Fournette or Dion Lewis?

by Mike Rose

1/19/18

NFL

Jacksonville Jaguars

Leonard Fournette

The surprising Jacksonville Jaguars were able to upset the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Divisional round of the playoffs last week at Heinz Field.

A huge reason for the win was the fantastic performance by rookie running back Leonard Fournette, who recorded 31.9 Dober Fantasy Points as he scrambled for a hat trick of touchdowns and 109 rushing yards.

Meanwhile, Dion Lewis was the game’s leading rusher for New England in its win last week over Tennessee in Foxboro. However, he wasn’t a huge factor as he gained only 62 yards for the Patriots in their win over the Titans.

Fantasy Matchup: Leonard Fournette (15.0 PFP) vs. Dion Lewis (13.5 PFP)

Jacksonville had the No. 1 rushing attack during the regular season and deservedly so with rookie Fournette leading the way. The No. 4 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft finished the season with 1,040 rushing yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 20 attempts per game. He also added 302 yards and a score through the air.

His fantastic debut campaign carried over into the postseason as Fournette has run for 166 yards and three touchdowns on 46 carries in Jacksonville’s first two games against Buffalo and Pittsburgh, respectively.

Fournette has averaged 16.71 Dober Fantasy Points per game and is projected to go for 15.0 against New England, putting him as a 1.5-point favorite over Lewis. If the three touchdowns weren’t enough in last week’s matchup against Pittsburgh’s No. 7 ranked rushing defense, imagine what he can do when he faces New England’s No. 20 unit? His 109-yard output last Sunday marked the sixth time in which he reached the century mark from scrimmage.

If there is one weakness on this Patriots team, it’s the run defense. New England was able to limit the Titans running game last week, but will it be able to stop the Jags, who average 141.4 yards per game on the ground? That’s going to definitely be a tall task. The Patriots are going to have to stop not only Fournette, but they have Chris Ivory to worry about as well as T.J. Yeldon. So that three-headed rushing attack could pose a huge threat come Sunday. And don’t forget about the scrambling ability of Bortles.

Meanwhile, the Patriots will look to find room on the ground as well. Lewis had a solid regular season in which he ran for 896 yards and six touchdowns. He also had 155 yards through the air and three receiving scores. In addition to his 62 rushing yards in the Divisional round against the Titans, he had 79 receiving yards on nine receptions. He failed to record a touchdown, however.

He’s been a part of the New England rushing attack that ranks No. 10 in rushing yards (118.1) and No. 1 in total yards (394.2) per game. He could have a nice matchup on Sunday because the Jags rush defense is nothing special as it ranks No. 21 in rushing yards allowed (116.2) but No. 2 when it comes to total yards given up (286.1).

These two rushers have been valuable pieces to their respective offenses and that will show with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. As far as which one gets a leg up on the other, I’m going to go with the rookie from LSU to have another stellar performance on the road. I’m placing him on my Dober Play Card, so you should as well.

AFC Championship Fantasy Matchup: Leonard Fournette (-1.5) vs. Dion Lewis