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 continue with the running backs. Today, we take a look at a running back who is switching from one high-flying offense in Tampa Bay to another in Kansas City. What can we expect from Ronald Jones II in 2022 fantasy football leagues? Should we add him to our rosters?
Ronald Jones II ADP and AAV:
Average Draft Position: RB40, 116 overall
Average Auction Value: $1.4
Ronald Jones II Statistics:
| Year | G | GS | Rush | Ru Yds | Ru TD | Tgt | Rec | Yards | TD | Touches | Opp | Total Yards |
| 2021 | 16 | 3 | 101 | 428 | 4 | 13 | 10 | 64 | 0 | 111 | 114 | 492 |
| 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 |
| Year | YPC | Rush/G | Ru Yd/G | Tgt/G | Rec/G | Catch% | Yds/Tgt | Yds/Rec | Touches/G | Opp/G | Yds/G |
| 2021 | 4.24 | 6.3 | 26.8 | 0.81 | 0.63 | 76.9% | 4.92 | 6.40 | 6.94 | 7.13 | 30.8 |
| 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 |
| Year | Std Pts | HPPR Pts | PPR Pts | Pts/G | HPPR Pts/G | PPR Pts/G | Pts/Tch | HPPR Pts/Tch | PPR Pts/Tch |
| 2021 | 69.2 | 74.2 | 79.2 | 4.33 | 4.64 | 5.0 | 0.62 | 0.67 | 0.71 |
| 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 |
2022 Ronald Jones II Fantasy Football Overview:
Going into 2021, some people (it’s me, I’m some people) thought that Ronald Jones, and not Leonard Fournette, would lead the Buccaneers’ backfield split. After all, Lombardi Lenny came about after Bruce Arians considered cutting Fournette, and before “RoJo” missed some time at the end of 2020 with injuries. And boy, were we wrong. Ronald Jones had 101 rushing attempts and 13 targets for just over 30 yards per game in 16 games last season. To put it mildly, he fell short of our expectations for him last season.
Here’s the thing, though: he wasn’t really bad rushing the football, and he hasn’t been bad since his rookie season (when he averaged 1.9 yards per carry). Over RoJo’s last three seasons, he’s mustered 4.6 yards per attempt over 465 rushing attempts. While yards per carry doesn’t tell the whole story with a running back, 4.6 yards per carry over 450 carries is indicative of a pattern, not a fluke or a spike in production. So really, RoJo didn’t suffer from being bad in 2021, he suffered from being not as good as Leonard Fournette, and given that Leonard Fournette ended up with 1,265 yards on 249 touches, there are worse things to be than not as good as the PPR RB3 last season.
I doubt that Ronald Jones wrests the job away from Clyde Edwards-Helaire, at least not outright, and definitely not right away. The Chiefs like to use a mixed backfield if possible, as now-departed Darrel Williams, the ostensible backup to Clyde Edwards-Helaire, still had a 47.5% snap share. There is a world, however, where Ronald Jones has a ton of value because he’s in there to be the first and second down, and goal line running back.
2022 Ronald Jones II Fantasy Football Draft Strategy:
Ronald Jones II Salary Cap Value: $1
Draft Ranking: Find out for your league settings in a Beersheet! (coming in early July)
Ronald Jones is an insanely cheap upside investment, and for that reason, I sort of like him in the later parts of your drafts. In a salary cap draft, he costs about $1.4, meaning that more-often-than-not, you can get him for $1, or $2 max. That’s a minimal investment for a guy who might be the first-and-second-down back in Kansas City. In snake drafts, he’s RB41, and 110 overall. That’s a tougher pill to swallow, as 117 overall have you passing on guys like Drake London (118), James Cook (122), Russell Gage (124), and Darrell Henderson (125). I don’t want to get him at those prices, so you should stay away from him in your snake drafts and take Darrell Henderson or Russell Gage as your upside plays there.
Best Case Scenario:
Ronald Jones takes over as the first-and-second down back in Kansas City and manages to eke together enough production to end up as a top-24 running back.
Worst Case Scenario:
The RoJo mojo is no mo, and they bury him on the depth chart behind Jerick McKinnon.
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[Statistics are sourced from pro-football-reference.com, airyards.com, and ftnfantasy.com]
