It’s that time of year once again! Football Absurdity will bring you a breakdown of every notable fantasy football-relevant player throughout June, July, and August. We finished our quarterbacks already; that means it’s time to get to the most frustrating position! That’s right, we’re on to the running backs. The next guy up is really good at football, but his first season in the NFL led us all to believe that he was not, in fact, good at football. Now, he’s mired with Playoff Lenny, leaving us all scratching our heads as to his true fantasy football value. Let’s break down 2021 Ronald Jones II.
Ronald Jones II ADP & AAV:
Average Draft Position (HPPR): RB29, Pick 66
Average Auction Value: $5.1 (RB29)
Ronald Jones II Statistics:
| Year | G | GS | Rush | Ru Yds | Ru TD | Tgt | Rec | Yards | TD | Touches | Opp | Total Yards |
| 2020 | 14 | 13 | 192 | 978 | 7 | 42 | 28 | 165 | 1 | 220 | 234 | 1143 |
| 2019 | 16 | 9 | 172 | 724 | 6 | 40 | 31 | 309 | 0 | 203 | 212 | 1033 |
| 2018 | 9 | 0 | 23 | 44 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 33 | 0 | 30 | 32 | 77 |
| Year | YPC | Rush/G | Ru Yd/G | Tgt/G | Rec/G | Catch% | Yds/Tgt | Yds/Rec | Touches/G | Opp/G | Yds/G |
| 2020 | 5.09 | 13.7 | 69.9 | 3.00 | 2.00 | 66.7% | 3.93 | 5.89 | 15.71 | 16.71 | 81.64 |
| 2019 | 4.21 | 10.8 | 45.3 | 2.50 | 1.94 | 77.5% | 7.73 | 9.97 | 12.69 | 13.25 | 64.56 |
| 2018 | 1.91 | 2.6 | 4.9 | 1.00 | 0.78 | 77.8% | 3.67 | 4.71 | 3.33 | 3.56 | 8.56 |
| Year | Std Pts | HPPR Pts | PPR Pts | Pts/G | HPPR Pts/G | PPR Pts/G | Pts/Tch | HPPR Pts/Tch | PPR Pts/Tch |
| 2020 | 158.3 | 172.3 | 186.3 | 11.31 | 12.31 | 13.3 | 0.72 | 0.78 | 0.85 |
| 2019 | 135.3 | 150.8 | 166.3 | 8.46 | 9.43 | 10.39 | 0.67 | 0.74 | 0.82 |
| 2018 | 13.7 | 17.2 | 20.7 | 1.52 | 1.91 | 2.3 | 0.46 | 0.57 | 0.69 |
2021 Ronald Jones II Fantasy Football Overview:
How much time do you have? Ronald Jones has carved out quite a strange career for himself, so far. In his rookie year, he famously (in my house) did not rush for enough yards in a single game to get from one end of a basketball court to another. Then, he had a breakout of sorts, becoming a good enough running back to have on your fantasy football squads in 2019 (1,033 total yards, RB26 overall). We got ourselves all hopped up on this season headed into 2020, and then the Tampa Bay Buccaneers added former Jacksonville Jaguar Leonard Fournette to the mix.
Every backfield shares snaps and touches, so Fournette didn’t really matter. That is until he really did. Before Ronald Jones hit the COVID-19 list last season, he averaged a respectable 16 touches per game, which he turned into a respectable 82 yards per contest, while scoring 7 touchdowns in those 13 games. Jones was an efficient runner, notching 5 yards per rush attempt. Unfortunately, a Ronald Jones target was worth less than a Ronald Jones rush attempt, as he averaged just 3.93 yards per target in this span.
Then, Playoff Lenny happened. The Buccaneers marginalized Ronald Jones due to a fractured pinky and a quad injury. He missed their first playoff game with his injuries and didn’t top 30% of snaps in the other three games. Fournette, who couldn’t find the line of scrimmage with a map and knowing what an offensive line looks like, and where they should be, during the regular season, went off. Fournette averaged 112 yards and a touchdown per game during the playoffs, as the Buccaneers rolled to a Super Bowl title.
2021 Ronald Jones II Fantasy Football Draft Strategy:
Ronald Jones II Auction Value: $2
Draft Ranking: Find out for your league settings in a Beersheet!
Therein lies the rub with Ronald Jones. He is an excellent value at RB29 if he is the Ronald Jones we saw last season. Unfortunately, he’s RB29 specifically because we don’t know what the Bucs’ backfield will look like in 2021. Not only does he have to contend with Leonard Fournette, but it wasn’t that long ago we swore Ke’Shawn Vaughn was coming for that job. Also, don’t forget that Giovani Bernard is there, now, too.
Thankfully, Ronald Jones is a good running back and is better than at least two of these guys. If he ends up splitting time with Leonard Fournette, I’m not worried. Everyone splits time these days. That having been said, I feel like backend RB2 is where he’s likely to end up when all is said and done. Not because I don’t like Ronald Jones, the player, but because I don’t particularly care for Ronald Jones, the situation. There’s a mess of guys there, and while I believe RoJo will climb his way to the top, there’s still the whole “climbing” aspect to contend with. So if you believe in Jones, get him as a throw-in in week four in a trade. The person who drafted him likely didn’t expend a ton of thought on Jones, and will likely willingly part with him on the cheap.
Best Case Scenario:
Ronald Jones casts aside the other running backs on the roster and solidifies his spot as a top-20 running back through being talented, and Good at Football.
Worst Case Scenario:
There are too many guys for him to shake, and he ends up under a pile of running backs. Just like Neo ends up under a pile of Mr. Smiths, in the hit film, The Matrix Reloaded.
Check out all our 2021 player profiles, here.
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[Statistics are sourced from pro-football-reference.com, airyards.com, and ftnfantasy.com]
[Image Source: Ronald Jones II on Twitter]
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