Ex-Jaguars RB Leonard Fournette: ‘For the First Time in My Life, I Really Have a Quarterback’

Leonard Fournette is obviously thrilled to be joining arguably the greatest quarterback of all time.

Leonard Fournette has never really been a part of a thriving passing offense throughout his collegiate and professional career, so it is no surprise to see his excitement over the past week in joining a Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense that has stars at quarterback, wide receiver and tight end. 

But the most enticing aspect of Tampa Bay's offense to Fournette is likely the future Hall of Famer the team has at quarterback, Tom Brady. Brady is arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history, or at least the most successful, and this serves as quite the contrast from what Fournette has played with in the past.

"For the first time in my life, I really have a quarterback. That's an eye-opener for me," Fournette said during a Tuesday media conference according to PewterReport.com.

#Bucs RB Leonard Fournette when talking about playing with Tom Brady: "For the first time in my life I really have a quarterback. That's an eye opener for me."

— PewterReport 🏴‍☠️ (@PewterReport) September 8, 2020

Considering Fournette played with some subpar quarterbacks at LSU and then spent the vast majority of his first two seasons in the NFL with Blake Bortles at the helm, it isn't exactly news that Fournette is now playing with the best quarterback he has ever played with. 

The quarterbacks Fournette has played with in the NFL are Bortles, Cody Kessler, Nick Foles and Gardner Minshew II, so Brady is clearly the top passer he has ever been around -- a sentiment LeSean McCoy shared a similar sentiment not too long ago.

"Technically, I haven't played with Tom Brady yet," McCoy said when asked about the best quarterback he has played with. "But it would be Tom Brady, for sure. Dang, I forgot Mahomes. Brady would be No. 1, obviously, even though we haven't played a game.

"It would go Brady, Mahomes and then Mike Vick and Donovan McNabb."

.@CutonDime25 answers your questions 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/cxhBfHQH4Y

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) September 4, 2020

Fournette was drafted with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft but the pick never really paid off for the Jaguars, leading to his release last Monday after three up-and-down years that failed to justify his high selection.

In three seasons, Fournette played in 36 regular season games and rushed 666 times for 2,631 yards (4.0 yards per carry) and 17 touchdowns, along with 134 receptions for 1,009 yards and two receiving touchdowns. He also played in three postseason games, rushing 70 times for 242 yards (3.46 average) and four touchdowns, with three of those touchdowns coming against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoff's Divisional Round.

"Leonard [Fournette]’s done a lot of great things for this team and this organization and we felt like to give him the best opportunity to land somewhere and not get caught up in the other transactions that are happening this week, where he’d have first shot and decide where he wanted to go, we felt like it was the best thing for him and the best thing for the team," Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell said Saturday when asked about the timing of the release.