RUSH TO THE FOUR’ FRONT
LSU running back likely to be a top-10 selection
A popular NFL draft storyline a few years ago was about the devaluation of running backs. The experts said teams would no longer take running backs in the first round because coaches had deemphasized the position. No backs were taken in the 2013 or 2014 f irst rounds. Then, Todd Gurley came along in 2015 and won Rookie of the Year for the Rams. Last season Ezekiel Elliott went No. 4 overall to the Cowboys and ran for 1,631 yards. No one is doubting t he r unning back anymore as a high draft pick. In t his year’s draft, Leonard Fournette of LSU is expected to go in the top 10 with Florida State’s Dalvin Cook and Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey shortly behind him.
“It’s changing the game for the running backs,” Fournette said at last month’s scouting combine. “When [Elliott] and Todd Gurley came out, they did a great j ob preparing us r unning backs nowadays to come out to even get a chance to get picked in the f i rst round.”
Fournette is viewed by many around the NFL as the next great running back. The 6-foot-1, 240-pounder can run through people and run around them. He had 3,830 yards on 616 carries (6.2 yards per carry) and 40 touchdowns in three seasons at LSU. He also had 41 catches for 526 yards and a receiving touchdown.
“North-and-south runner,” Fournette said when asked to describe his style. “Can make defenders miss. Can run over t hem. Can run past them.”
Teams will have quest i ons about Fournette’s durab il - i ty, t hough. A nagging ankle injury slowed him down for most of the 2016 season. It is the reason he said he sat out the team’s bowl game, a decision that raised eyebrows. It seemed like he was sitting out to protect his draft status rather than helping his team.
“There’s similar things to Bo [Jackson]: size, twitch, explosion, burst, power.” — An anonymous scout, talking about Leonard Fournette
Fournette said LSU coach Ed Orgeron convinced him to sit.
“It was a hard decision for me to sit out, and my coach asking me and telling me to make the right decision for your future,” Fournette said. “I cried like a girl. It was one of the hardest decisions I had to make besides committing to a school.”
NFL teams surely will get over that decision quickly when they study Fournette’s ability. His game t ape is impressive enough, but then when you look at his physical traits, it will be hard for teams to pass on him. He ran a 4.51second 40-yard dash at the combine, a day after weighing in at 240 pounds.
“There’s similar things to Bo [Jackson]: size, twitch, explosion, burst, power,” an anonymous scout told The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “I could have written his report as a freshman. It didn’t take long to see he was a different bird. He’s not normal. Last year he had some of the most dynamic 2-yard gains you will ever see.”
Mock drafts have Fournette going as high as No. 4 to the Jaguars. The Jets at No. 6 and the Panthers at No. 8 are also possibilities. Panthers coach Ron Rivera said this week he will personally attend Fournette’s pro day next week.
“There’s a few of [the pro days] that I wanted to go to specifically,” Rivera said Wednesday at the owners meetings. “His is one of them.”
Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan acknowledged that from a scouting perspective, he sees the argument that running backs can be found in the later rounds, but if a running back is worth taking in the first round, he would do it.
“Would I consider taking a running back at six?” Maccagnan said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “Absolutely. If I thought he was worthy of that pick.”
Fournette may be that guy.