Jaguars OC: 'Leonard Fournette Needs to Be a Big Part of This Offense'

Offensive coordinator John DeFilippo has high expectations for running back Leonard Fournette in 2019.

Speaking to reporters after Thursday's organized team activities, DeFilippo declared that Fournette "needs to be a big part of this offense" for the Jacksonville Jaguars to succeed.

"We're really looking forward to Leonard having a big year," he said. "I'm going to call it what it is: He's going to be a major reason where our offense goes. I'm not going to sugarcoat that. ... The harder he works—which he is right now—that's going to be not only good for our offense, but good for our team."

Fournette told reporters Friday he's happy to be back with the Jaguars and excited for the 2019 season, per Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com:

"I'm happy, especially the way I'm here working with my team right now. It's a new year. We have a new team. We're focused and we have new players. It's a new year for us. So it's a new everything. It's a clean start for a lot of us guys.

"We're not focused on the past. The past's the past. Some things I did, whether it was offseason and I admitted to, yeah, I was wrong. We moved on. We're in a good place right now."

Fournette has lacked consistency and a clean bill of health since being drafted No. 4 overall in 2017. He showed promise as a rookie with 1,040 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, but his 3.9 yards per carry put him tied for 26th among running backs.

Last season was an all-around disappointment. The former LSU star missed seven games because of injuries and was suspended one game after a fight with Buffalo Bills defensive end Shaq Lawson during a Week 12 loss.

Jacksonville has taken steps to improve the offense. The addition of Nick Foles, who won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles with DeFilippo as quarterbacks coach, under center will be a huge upgrade over Blake Bortles.

A healthy and focused Fournette will also go a long way toward making things easier for the Jaguars offense and could make them a playoff contender following last year's 5-11 finish.