JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Last season, only the New York Giants had fewer rushing scores (6) than the Jaguars (8), and three of Jacksonville’s rushing touchdowns came from quarterback Blake Bortles. That’s a huge reason why the Jaguars selected former LSU running back Leonard Fournette with the No. 4 overall draft pick in April.
Jaguars executive VP of football operations Tom Coughlin said Fournette is the special play-maker the Jaguars need. “We need to put the ball in the end zone,” Coughlin said. “This guy (Fournette) will put the ball in the end zone for us.”
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Fournette weighed 240 pounds at the 2017 NFL Combine and ran the fastest 40-yard dash in combine history for anyone his size — 4.51 seconds. He then shed 12 pounds and got down to 228 at his pro day.
Position: Running back
2016 Stats (at LSU): 129 carries, 843 yards (6.5 avg), 8 TDs – Only played in seven games due to an ankle injury
2017 Projection: Running backs who are selected in the top 5 of the NFL Draft don’t usually sit on the bench for long. The Jaguars haven’t announced a starter but it would be a big surprise if Fournette isn’t the featured back when they open the 2017 season at Houston on Sept. 10.
In 2016 Ezekiel Elliot (Cowboys) and Jordan Howard (Bears) were the only two rookies to top 1,000 yards rushing. It’s hard to put a number on how many yards Fournette will run for. Last season Jaguars running backs Chris Ivory and T.J. Yeldon combined for 904 rushing yards. The Jaguars are expecting Fournette to top that number at the least.
Key Stat: In 32 career games at LSU, Fournette ran for 100 yards or more 19 times.
From the locker room:
Fournette on the biggest adjustment from college to the NFL:
“I played in the SEC, so I had a lot of big and fast guys, but to me, I think it’s 95 percent mental. If you don’t know what you’re doing when you go out there not knowing anything, you’ll get lost fast. I think it’s a lot of hard work and preparation at the end of the day.”