Ronald Jones

Week 2 vs. Atlanta Falcons

Ronald Jones played six snaps in Week 1 when he fumbled and was then sent to the doghouse by Bruce Arians. It's the second time in the past two seasons Jones has been inexplicably benched because of a fumble. It's not even really an issue for Jones, who has only fumbled six times out of 1,826 career touches. We expect Jones to play more than six snaps in Week 2, but it's hard to trust him moving forward. Even before Jones was benched, it appeared as if Leonard Fournette was the favored back in this offense. We wouldn't fully cut ties with Jones in fantasy, but it's probably best to leave him on the bench in Week 2.

Fantasy Upside
Ronald Jones finished with 1,143 scrimmage yards last season (leading all players on the team), despite Bruce Arians’ love affair with Leonard Fournette. Jones only played 67 more total offensive snaps than Fournette but had 543 more yards. When Jones actually gets the ball, he plays well, as he averaged 110 scrimmage yards in the games where he played 50% or more of the snaps in 2020 (there were seven such games). He also scored five of his eight touchdowns in those games.

Fantasy Downside
The Bucs not only brought back Fournette, but they also added Giovani Bernard in the offseason. Jones already had a minimal role as a receiver, finishing with just 28 catches last year, but now it feels as if that’ll be non-existent. Bernard’s arrival feels like Fournette’s role as a receiver will diminish, which means he’ll be incorporated more as a runner. We saw this throughout the playoffs as Fournette out-touched Jones 82 to 35 (although Jones did suffer a quad injury in the team’s first game of the postseason).

2021 Bottom Line
Expect Jones to return as the Bucs’ primary runner, but Fournette will continue to be a nuisance. We project Jones to finish with more carries and rushing yards, but Fournette won’t be far behind. And Bernard’s arrival will only make things more difficult as it adds a true third threat that the Bucs didn’t have a season ago in LeSean McCoy. If Fournette goes down with an injury, Jones will be a hot commodity, but as it stands, we’re projecting him outside of the top 30 running backs (half-PPR). He should be viewed as an RB3/flex option in 2021.

Week 14 vs. Minnesota Vikings

After an explosive 23-touch game in Week 10, the Bucs have gone back to limiting Ronald Jones' touches in the two games since. Jones has seen just 10 touches in each of his last two games, although he was able to do more with less in his last outing in Week 12. Jones finished with 103 scrimmage yards and a touchdown in that game, despite only being on the field for 36% of the offensive plays. Jones has been great this season when he gets the ball, but for whatever reason, the Bucs don't want to give him the ball. He gets a middle-of-the-road matchup against the Vikings this week, where we like Jones as a solid RB2 play.