Leonard Fournette was as transparent with the media Thursday as he's ever been. And he had a clear message.
"I'm a running back first," the former, No. 4 overall draftee said. "I don't mind pass blocking and those types of things. But I'm a running back first."
This came on the heels of offensive coordinator John DeFilippo's press conference earlier Thursday, in which the first-year Jaguars coach praised Fournette's improved blocking ability -- while also acknowledging Jacksonville's struggles to run the ball.
"He had a huge, huge blitz pickup on a key third down on the left sideline. He came across the formation and picked up the blitz and that was as good as it gets. It doesn’t get any better than that," DeFilippo said. "We need to keep him going in that realm and hopefully get him going running the football.”
Fournette is averaging 4.2 yards per carry through three games. However, if you factor out his 69-yard touchdown run against the Tennessee Titans, that average dwindles to 2.4 yards a carry. In an injury-plagued 2018 season, Fournette averaged 3.3 yards per carry.
The Jags' lead tailback has rushed for 179 yards so far through three games, putting him on pace for 954 yards on the season. Fournette's career high, 1,040 yards, came in his rookie season.
"Nobody played in the preseason games, and I think that messed up the communication," Fournette explained. "Also, you gotta have timing with the running game, too. I think we're slowly getting there."
The Jaguars (1-2) travel to Denver (0-3) this weekend. The Broncos are giving up 109 rushing yards per game so far in 2019.