Jaguars' Hackett: Fournette 'almost took too many hits' as a rookie

Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett thinks that running back Leonard Fournette can be more efficient as a rusher in his sophomore season now that he has a year of experience.

"I think as a young player getting to this level and then he really ran hard and did a really good job," Hackett said, according to John Reid of Jacksonville.com. "But I think he almost took too many hits. I just want him to be able to understand the system more so he can run even smarter, but still never lose that aggressiveness."

Fournette gained 1,040 rushing yards on 268 attempts as a rookie, good for an average tote of 3.9 yards. He rushed for nine touchdowns and added one more as a receiver, while catching 36 of 48 targets in 13 games.

The fourth overall pick of last year's draft totaled 100 rushing yards in his Week 1 debut, and he accomplished the feat four other times in the regular season, along with one more 100-yard game in the playoffs.

Hackett also believes that the team's offseason additions, including guard Andrew Norwell, wide receivers Donte Moncrief and D.J. Chark, and tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, will provide the team with enough variable looks for Fournette to escape some defensive attention.

"We have always talked about wanting to be as versatile as possible," Hackett said. "If you put three tight ends out there and then a fullback out there and then all tight ends and all wide receivers and just always continue to mix it up, I think that is always something that you can really utilize to your advantage."

With h/t to Pro Football Talk