He will be this year’s Ezekiel Elliott.

He will rush for more than 100 yards per game.

He will finish with 300-plus attempts.

And he will score 15 touchdowns.

The expectations for Jaguars rookie tailback Leonard Fournette seem to increase on a weekly basis.

But let’s take a step back and project what would be a great season for Fournette, drafted fourth overall by the Jaguars in April.

With the help of Pro Football Reference, we crunched the numbers to come up with a bar for Fournette:

Rushing attempts – 275 (17.2 per game).

Since 2012, a tailback has reached 275 carries on 30 occasions, including five players last year.

The best way for Fournette to reach 275 carries, besides good health, is if the Jaguars – like they believe – are improved and play with a lead. Plus, Fournette figures to get the bulk of the red zone work. He won’t be a guy that leads the Jaguars down the field but is not allowed to finish off the drive.

Rushing yards – 1,200 (75 per game).

There have been 32 seasons of 1,200 rushing yards since 2012, including seven last year.

The workhorse back made a comeback last year after only two players reached 1,200 yards in 2014.

Yards per rush – 4.4.

Among players with 275 carries last year, a 4.4-yard average would have tied for second with Tennessee’s DeMarco Murray and behind Elliott (5.1).

The key for Fournette in posting this kind of average – big plays.

Elliott was aided by an NFL-high 14 attempts that gained at least 20 yards.

When Fournette rushed for 1,953 yards for LSU in 2015, he had 59 carries of at least 10 yards, including 18 of at least 20 yards.

Rushing touchdowns – 11.

Last year, scoring 11 times would have tied for sixth-most in the NFL.

The Jaguars as a team haven’t rushed for at least 10 touchdowns since 2010 (14) and last had a player reach double-digit touchdowns in 2009 (Maurice Jones-Drew 15).

If Fournette reaches those marks, where would it rank among rookie tailbacks?

Since 1970, only 13 rookie tailbacks have rushed at least 275 times, gained 1,200 yards, averaged 4.4 per attempt and scored 11 touchdowns. Five are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame – Eric Dickerson, Curtis Martin, Marshall Faulk, Earl Campbell and Barry Sanders. Nine were top-five draft picks – Dickerson, Elliott, Faulk, Campbell and Sanders, George Rogers, Edgerrin James, Curt Warner and Billy Sims.

’PHENOMENAL ATHLETE’

Way back during Super Bowl Week, we talked with Atlanta Falcons linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich, who was Jaguars middle linebacker Myles Jack’s position coach at UCLA in 2013 and the Bruins’ defensive coordinator in 2014.

Here is Ulbrich on Jack:

"Phenomenal athlete. Very hungry. Ball is very important to him. Very bright kid. Shoot, he’s a special one.

"To me, he could be the best cover linebacker in many ways and especially on tight ends. It became a thing at UCLA – he wasn’t even allowed to take a tight end or running back in practice – he would take the receiver and typically, they couldn’t catch a ball on him.

"His true ability is in coverage – playing off the ball and letting him use his lateral range to run and hit. When you put him up at the line of scrimmage, you can limit what he can do.

"He would typically take walk-through reps [at running back]. On a Friday, he would get 10 half-speed tempo runs. That’s it. He didn’t have a huge passion to play the position, but I always like he was special there, too.

"You would see [quarterback] Brett Hundley pointing right or left before the play – Myles had no experience, no meeting time – it was, ‘Go that way.’ He was such a crazy, phenomenal athlete, he made it work."

UNAMINOUS PROJECTION

Three NFL preview magazines have been published and there is total agreement on where the Jaguars will finish in the AFC South – last.

Pro Football Weekly: A 7-9 record for the Jaguars. … Tennessee to win the division. … New England over Oakland and Dallas over Green Bay in the conference title games. … New England over Dallas in the Super Bowl.

Athlon’s: Ranks the Jaguars 14th in the AFC, ahead of only the Jets and Cleveland. … Tennessee to win the division. … New England over Pittsburgh and Green Bay over Atlanta in the conference title games. … New England over Green Bay in the Super Bowl.

Street and Smith: Tennessee to win the division. … New England over Pittsburgh and Green Bay over Dallas in the conference title games. … New England over Green Bay in the Super Bowl.

PRAISE FOR POZ

Former Dallas Cowboys executive Gil Brandt, now a contributor to NFL.com wrote Wednesday a story listing 11 current players he thought could become a future head coach. Included was Jaguars linebacker Paul Posluszny.

Wrote Brandt: "Posluszny is another prime model of the type of overachieving player who makes for good head-coaching material. He’s the type of person who wants to help others – including his successor, Myles Jack – get better by learning the game. He would be an aggressive type of head coach who places a premium on teaching."

Posluszny, Carolina safety Mike Adams and Minnesota cornerback Terence Newman were the lone defensive players on Brandt’s list.

FINAL DRIVE

*If the representatives for center Brandon Linder were waiting for a target before picking up their contract extension demands, they got it Thursday. Oakland signed guard Gabe Jackson to a five-year, $56 million deal (the $11.5 million average is third-highest among all guards), including $26 million guaranteed. Jackson was drafted 81st overall in 2014 and Linder was selected 12 spots later.

*Jaguars defensive tackle Malik Jackson participated in former Denver teammate Von Miller’s inaugural "Pass Rush Summit" last week on the Stanford campus. Among the attendees were Denver ‘s Shane Ray, Oakland’s Khalil Mack, Atlanta’s Vic Beasley, San Francisco’s Solomon Thomas and Seattle’s Cassius Marsh and Cliff Avril. The recently retired DeMarcus Ware was also on-site.

*Former NFL tailback Clinton Portis’ cautionary tale (careless spending and bad financial guidance left him broke) should be a wake-up call to our friends at the NFLPA. The individuals who Portis accuses of stealing/wasting his money were certified by the union. The union, in conjunction with the league office and individual teams, must set up a better clearinghouse for advisers and just as important, continue to work together to stress to players the importance of controlled spending.

*Appearing on Adam Schefter’s podcast, former Oregon/Philadelphia/San Francisco coach Chip Kelly talked around a question about how close he came to joining the Jaguars or Atlanta as offensive coordinator. "I had opportunities to go to a couple of different places," Kelly told Schefter. "Again, I appreciated all of the options I had in front of me. As I looked at it, I thought [ESPN] was probably the best step for me at this time."