Jacksonville Jaguars 2017 NFL Draft: Leonard Fournette a Generational, Franchise Choice
By Luke Sims
The Jacksonville Jaguars can return to their identity by drafting LSU running back Leonard Fournette in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Leonard Fournette is the kind of player that simply dominates football games, that is the gist of the writing surrounding him these days. The consistent comparison through the pre-draft process has been the Minnesota Vikings’ Adrian Peterson, the best running back in the last generation.
Peterson has defined the Vikings since joining the team in 2007. Quarterbacks have come and gone, even one Hall of Famer, but Peterson has been a constant. The Vikings have gone to the playoffs on his legs alone. Everything else was complementary.
Fournette could do the same for the Jacksonville Jaguars. But it isn’t just Peterson he would be channeling. Fournette would also be channeling Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew, the last two players who truly defined the Jaguars in their primes. It would be a return to the Jaguars’ dominant run game that could take over games.
It has been a half decade since Jones-Drew led the NFL in rushing. It has been four seasons since MJD rushed for 177 yards against the Indianapolis Colts (one of five 150+ yard games in his career) and it has been 16 seasons since Taylor’s 234-yard game against the Pittsburgh Steelers (one of nine 150+ yard games in his career). The Jags were blessed with running backs who could take over games, landing them back-to-back with a little bit of dominant overlap.
While not every game was a 100-yard day for either back and not every outing was perfect, the days of even having the potential to rack up 200+ yards on the ground are seemingly gone. T.J. Yeldon and Chris Ivory are serviceable starters, but they aren’t dominant players.
Bringing in Fournette would be a way to ensure a dominant player at the position for the first time since those two backs took off. It is risky to take a top-five running back in any draft, but sometimes the risk is worth it. Fournette has all of the tools to make it a safer risk than usual.
Next: But Does Fournette Have the Right Mentality for the Jaguars?
Regardless of what happens on the offensive line or what happens at quarterback, bringing in a generational talent can define a team for a decade. After being lost in the cellar for the last half decade, the Jacksonville Jaguars need a player who can be that defining component and raise all boats. That player is, by all accounts, Leonard Fournette.