LSU’s Leonard Fournette taken No. 4 overall by the Jaguars in 2017 NFL Draft

Leonard Fournette will bring a lethal combination of speed and power to the NFL.

LSU star Leonard Fournette was selected No. 4 overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars during the NFL Draft’s first day in Philadelphia, PA. Fournette was expected to be the first running back selected off the board and guess what? It happened. Let’s take a look at how his landing spot will reflect this year’s fantasy potential:

Is this a good fantasy football fit?

In one word, yes. This helps the Jacksonville offense as a whole and takes pressure off Blake Bortles and the passing offense. Fournette will be over-drafted in the fantasy world due to his name and hype, but he should crack 1,000 yards and double-digit touchdowns. Unfortunately, Fournette is an early-down back who struggles catching the ball out of the backfield and in pass protection. He’s not as complete as Ezekiel Elliott, but he will definitely get the majority of the carries out of the Jacksonville backfield. The LSU product will be a solid RB2 in fantasy.

Fournette’s Combine Analysis

We all know Fournette for his freakish size and bulldozer body. He measured in at 6’0 and 240 pounds, which is great size for a lead back. The comparison to Bo Jackson has been thrown around a couple times for his bruising style of play. Unfortunately, the extra pounds he put on before the combine translated to a poor vertical jump. Fournette recorded a 28.5″ jump which was the second lowest score of running backs since 2000. Those red flags and concerns were washed away after Fournette’s 40 time of 4.52 seconds. Other stud running backs Dalvin Cook and Christian McCaffery recorded times of 4.49 and 4.48, which is significant after seeing how much bigger Fournette is than those two. The thought of a 240 pound Fournette sprinting towards helpless defensive backs is terrifying. He did not participate in any other combine drills.

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How good was Fournette in college?

Fournette came into college as a very highly touted recruit and the #1 ranked running back. In his freshman year, Fournette appeared in every game totaling 1,034 yards and 10 touchdowns. The 5.5 yards per carry showed promise as the young back was only destined to improve as he got bigger and stronger. Sophomore year showed Fournette’s true potential as he rushed for 1,953 yards and 22 touchdowns which got him into Heisman consideration. He was labeled as the favorite for the 2016 Heisman heading into his junior season which was derailed after missing five games due to an ankle injury. Despite the low numbers, Fournette managed to keep a high 6.5 ypc matching his sophomore year average. Fournette was a consensus 2015 All American, while earning Second Team All-SEC honors in 2016.

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Author

  • THE Inaugural 2016 RSJ Fantasy Football League Champion. Owner of a #bigbrain, and lover of football, baseball and college hoops. When not grinding for the RSJ, can be found captaining his beer league softball team.

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