Dynasty Faceoff: Leonard Fournette vs. James Conner

For the avid dynasty football fan, there literally is no offseason. This brings time to evaluate rosters, consider and make trades, dig in on the draft prep and get ready for the rookie drafts happening in late spring and into summer. Many dynasty managers would argue that the offseason is even more fun than the regular season is, which may be true. With so many players and roster decisions to consider, we will be breaking down some players with similar value and ADP. Check this one out in Dynasty Faceoff: Leonard Fournette vs. James Conner.

Which side do you fall on in these popular player debates for 2022 and beyond? Let us know in the comments or on social media which side you are taking and why.

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Leonard Fournette – Tampa Bay Buccaneers

27 Years Old. DOB: January 18, 1995

I’ll start this one off by saying that Leonard Fournette and James Conner are very close in dynasty rankings. They’re both 27-year-old veterans with an immediate path to fantasy football production. Also, they’re both coming off of fantastic seasons where they were nice surprises and were both safe, consistent options week in and week out. Both of these veterans are great pieces to have if you’re looking to win now, but overall I’d much rather take Fournette.

Fournette just finished as the RB6 in PPR scoring, while Conner finished as the RB5. Both of these performances were career-bests for these backs. Conner had 18 total touchdowns while Fournette had 10, but Fournette had almost twice as many targets and receptions. Fournette also had more rushing yards on fewer attempts. They’re both nice pieces to help you win now, but I’d feel a bit safer with Fournette after the way we saw him used in the passing game. Conner will rely a bit more on touchdowns for his production, but I’d bet he regresses some in that regard as averaging a touchdown every single week is not easy to do by any means.

Let’s hope rookie Rachaad White and veteran Giovani Bernard don’t get utilized too heavily in the passing game, which could limit Fournette’s upside. They both should eat into his workload a bit, but overall we’ve seen Fournette clearly take over this Tampa Bay backfield and the Buccaneers just locked him in for three more years. One of the biggest factors for Fournette is that he’s gained the trust of none other than Tom Brady.  – Aaron Schill @aaron_schill

While I view both Fournette and Conner as players I would sell right now in dynasty leagues, I do think Fournette will have a tremendous season this year. Tom Brady coming back to play at least one more season has Fournette primed to receive plenty of targets. I am not concerned about new Buccaneers running back White due to Brady historically favoring veteran players who have earned his trust. I believe that Fournette is in line to finish top-five at his position this coming season. – Stephen Brownholtz @sbrownholtz1

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James Conner – Arizona Cardinals

27 Years Old. DOB: May 5, 1995

After Chase Edmonds was injured last year, Conner’s usage and production increased heavily. Edmonds recently signed with Miami, and the Cardinals drafted rookie Keaontay Ingram as the pass catching back. Conner currently does not have much of any competition for touches in the backfield. Meanwhile, Fournette has quite a bit of competition going into 2022 between Ke’Shawn Vaughn, Giovani Bernard, and rookie Rachaad White. Conner and Fournette are pretty close, but with potential for increased usage, I’m going with Conner. – Brendan O’Bryan @OBryanBren

Last year Conner was a touchdown threat on a weekly basis as he scored a whopping 16 total touchdowns. That includes Edmonds being on the field for 12 games before getting injured. Now that Edmonds is gone and signed with the Miami Dolphins, it’s Conner’s backfield with no real threat to losing any work. The Cardinals will do all that they can to keep Kyler Murray healthy, especially around the goal line. Conner may not hit 16 touchdowns again, but I would still at least expect 10 at worst. I see another top-10 running back season coming for Conner. – Ryan Miner @RyanMiner_FFB

I think it’s close but give me Conner over Fournette. Conner had 15 rushing touchdowns last season which is massive for fantasy purposes to go on top of his touches. I think his usage will increase this season with Edmonds gone as well and that he has a chance to be a three down back. Double digit touchdowns are not out of the question and he should have 30-40 receptions as well. Fournette should be solid as well but he’s never had double digit rushing touchdowns. He may have more receptions than Conner, but I think it will be closer this year as Bernard and White will take some of the receiving work away from Fournette. – Steve Stoughton @sstoughton77

Conner had more carries inside the 10 yard line last year than Fournette did and I think he will again this year. I also see more competition for touches in Tampa Bay than in Arizona. Also, Conner has had two seasons with double-digit touchdowns while Fournette has zero. With DeAndre Hopkins out for six games Arizona might lean more on the run especially in the red zone. – Steven Ransbottom @kelldon83

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