With the fourth overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars selected Leonard Fournette, the freakishly talented runningback from LSU. Why is the word “freak” associated with Fournette you ask? Because he defies the laws of physics with his size and speed. At 6’0 feet and 240 pounds he has a very large frame for a running back. Yet he shocked NFL scouts at the NFL combine when he ran a 4.51, 40 yard dash. “Built like a linebacker with speed like a receiver. Long, powerful strides get speedy turnover. Click and go runner who hits his second gear faster than most big backs you’ll ever see.” -Lance Zierlein (NFL.com) There’s no mistaking the talent that this young man brings to the table for the Jaguar offense.
It’s a proven fact that football is a copycat game, and the NFL is a copy cat league. Teams that have success in previous years find themselves being imitated by other teams in current years. So too is the case when it comes to the Jacksonville Jaguars. New Head Coach Doug Marrone and Executive Vice President Tom Coughlin will be looking to build a physical football team just as Coughlin had in New York. The perfect example of this model last year was the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys were physical on offense in 2016, due largely in part to the physical down hill running back they drafted at #4 in Ezekiel Elliot. All Elliot did last year was lead the league in rushing with 1,631 yards and score 15 touchdowns on the ground. It may seem like an A+ pick for the Cowboys today, but a year ago it seemed more like a D+ pick by many analyst and fans.
Elliott Grade: D. Like the player. Hate the position.
— Pete Prisco (@PriscoCBS) April 29, 2016
2016 NFL Draft: Cowboys get a big D for drafting Ezekiel Elliott at No. 4
@fgank_22 @NFLCharean my thoughts exactly it’s a shame we didn’t take the best defensive player
— V Green (@VGreen1172) April 29, 2016
After seeing the success the Cowboys enjoyed, a year later and at the exact same pick (number 4), the Jacksonville Jaguars followed the Dallas Cowboy model and selected what many believe to be the best running back in college football Leonard Fournette. They did so not without the scrutiny and criticism Ezekiel and Dallas received last year.
2017 NFL Draft Grades: Jaguars get a D for selecting Leonard Fournette No. 4
Hate the Fournette pick. Way too high
— Pete Prisco (@PriscoCBS) April 28, 2017
@PriscoCBS I agree think there will be a Nixon or cook there in the second
— ben salter (@nacl72) April 28, 2017
Apparently the word “copycat” isn’t just reserved for NFL teams, but it can be used for analyst and fans as well. Some are emphatically opposed to drafting a running back in the first round. Others were extremely vocal in their disgust of drafting Fournette over the game breaker from down the road in Tallahassee (Dalvin Cook-FSU). Yet if recent history proves anything, it reinforces the fact that the Jaguars made the right selection. Cook is an exceptional talent who can make an amazing play at any point of the game. But Fournette has shown that same game breaking ability, plus he is capable of carrying the load and closing a game out.
I am the hustle, I am the struggle pic.twitter.com/ufCgiaw9S4
— 7⃣ Leonard Fournette (@_fournette) April 28, 2017
Thirty carries a game is what the Jaguars are looking for at the running back position. Someone who can take the pressure off the Quarterback. Conventional wisdom sides with taking the big guy from the Bayou at four over Cook. It’s a flashback to old school football that Jacksonville hasn’t seen since the days of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones Drew. With Fournette, fans should get ready for a running back that brings an identity to the team and the city, just as Ezekiel Elliot did for Dallas last year. Proving once and for all that picking a running back at #4 was the right choice.
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