Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette is the team's "nickel" running back, head coach Bruce Arians said.
Fournette has taken over for LeSean McCoy (ankle) as the Buccaneers' passing-down and hurry-up back. He actually out-snapped Ronald Jones 40-31 and led the backfield with 17 touches in last week's dominant win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Fournette finished with his second-highest rushing total (50 yards) of the year and set a season-high as a receiver (47 yards). Expect another committee approach in Week 8 when the Buccaneers face the New York Giants on Monday night. Per FanDuel Sportsbook, the Buccaneers are 10.5-point favorites in Week 8.
numberFire's models expect Fournette to handle 9.7 touches and score 6.3 FanDuel points against the Giants on Monday night. Jones is projected for 16.5 touches and 12.4 FanDuel points. Fournette has a salary of $5,900 and Jones has a salary of $6,300.
Source: Greg Auman, The Athletic