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Jaguars RB Leonard Fournette has no idea of workload or role, but that's OK

Leonard Fournette says he will be ready for Sunday regardless of how the Jags decide to use him. Brett Davis/USA TODAY Sports

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Leonard Fournette has no idea if he's starting Sunday's game against the Houston Texans, how much he'll play, or how many times he'll carry the ball. Yet the Jacksonville Jaguars' rookie running back says none of that matters.

"The biggest thing is for this organization to win," Fournette said Thursday. "That's all."

That's been pretty rare around here. The Jaguars haven't had a winning record or made the playoffs since 2007 and have won just 17 games over the past five seasons. They were in the position to draft Fournette fourth overall in April because they went 3-13 last season, the sixth year in a row in which they finished with double-digit losses.

The Jaguars took Fournette because they believe he can help them finally snap that streak and become a factor in the AFC South. However, the Jaguars have had Chris Ivory take more reps with the first-team offense in training camp and the preseason than Fournette. Coach Doug Marrone wouldn't say if Fournette will start against the Texans at NRG Stadium.

"I think we'll see," Marrone said Monday. "We'll see how the week goes. We'll see who will be back there."

The last time Fournette didn't start a game when he was healthy was Oct. 4, 2014 in LSU's game against Auburn. Fournette started against Florida the following week and ran for 140 yards and two touchdowns in the Tigers' 30-27 victory.

Even if Fournette didn't start against the Texans, he's sure to see plenty of work. He's 100 percent recovered from a toe injury that kept him out of the final two preseason games (most of the team's starters and key personnel were held out of the finale) and the Jaguars didn't draft him to touch the ball 12 times per game.

Though Marrone, GM Dave Caldwell, or executive VP of football operations Tom Coughlin has not been specific about their plan for Fournette, it's not unrealistic to expect him to surpass 250 carries in 2017. Ezekiel Elliott, whom Dallas took with the fourth pick in 2016, led the NFL in carries (322) and rush yards (1,631) as a rookie.

It would be unfair to expect Fournette to come close to duplicating those numbers because the Cowboys have the best offensive line in the NFL, but it is fair to expect the fourth overall draft pick to have a similar workload.

"I don't know," Fournette said. "Whatever he [Marrone] needs me to do, I'm there."