Jacksonville Jaguars: It’s time to expand the role of the fullback
By Larry Brake
The Jacksonville Jaguars should get creative with the fullback position and expand its role in the offensive scheme.
Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett re-instituted the fullback position in the Jacksonville Jaguars offense last season. Tommy Bohanon was signed to fill that position. Currently, Bohanon is the only fullback on the Jaguars roster. Remember, Marquez Williams was drafted last season to compete with Bohanon. Williams was released in October. Lamar Atkins, another fullback, was signed and released in June.
In 2017, Bohanon primarily blocked for Leonard Fournette. However, he ran for five yards on five attempts with two touchdowns. Bohanon also caught six passes for 43 yards and one touchdown.
It’s time to expand the role of the fullback position. Jim Brown, the greatest rusher of all time, played fullback. Marcus Allen and Franco Harris, both Hall of Famers, were fullbacks. Jacksonville needs a real threat to complement Fournette.
Would Hackett consider moving T.J. Yeldon to fullback due to his ability to catch and run? There are five running backs on the current Jacksonville roster. Tim Cook is another candidate.
Since Jacksonville wants to be a power running team, they need a bigger threat outside the red zone. Fournette faced a stacked defensive front 49 percent of his carries in 2017, according to NFL.com’s Next Gen Stats. Opposing teams know who is getting the ball.
It’s time to get more creative in the running attack. How about adding the fullback dive play on a regular basis? John Riggins, another fullback, led the Washington Redskins to a Super Bowl victory by running the counter trey play.
DeMarco Murray is unsigned and still looking for a team. He would be a nice upgrade for the Jaguars running game. Most of all, having them in the same backfield, makes Jacksonville more explosive.
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Finally, training camp begins later this month. Player movement will commence as teams sign remaining free agents and cut players. It will be interesting to see what the Jaguars do with the fullback position.