Jacksonville Jaguars Mock Draft: Leonard Fournette comes to Jacksonville
By Luke Sims
The Jacksonville Jaguars need to hit a home run with the fourth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Leonard Fournette to the Jacksonville Jaguars is a common mock draft selection about a month away from the 2017 NFL Draft. While there are other running back contenders like Dalvin Cook and other positions stocked with talent like defensive linemen Jonathan Allen and Solomon Thomas, Fournette remains the man to beat.
This was seemingly confirmed in the Jacksonville Jaguars team site mock draft compiled by senior writer John Oehser. Oehser’s version 1.0 mock gives Fournette to the Jaguars like many other mocks do.
Taking Fournette at fourth overall is not necessarily a sure thing and there are concerns about how his dominant collegiate game (in which he essentially ran people over) can translate to the NFL and whether his style of running is what the Jags need. But the Jags do need an offensive weapon and are stocked at wide receiver, making a running back a logical choice, even as early as fourth overall.
Oehser doesn’t shy away from the fact that there are other options. In particular, Oehser addresses the deficiency on the defensive line by saying:
"More from Black and TealJacksonville Jaguars should welcome Derrick Henry into the kingdomJaguars Rumors: Trent Baalke seems to be getting respect nowBold trade proposal has Jacksonville Jaguars shipping LT Cam RobinsonJaguars News: This division rival might be making a big moveFormer Jacksonville Jaguars S Johnathan Cyprien: “New Profession, Same Standards”Pass rusher would be a real possibility. And if an elite pass-rusher were there at No. 4, then that certainly would feel like the choice. But Thomas, a defensive end from Stanford, is projected as being gone before No. 4 in this draft – and he’s not a prototypical edge rusher. Allen also isn’t a prototypical edge player – and questions over arthritis in his shoulders could move him out of the Top 5."
Interestingly, Oehser has Thomas going second overall to the San Francisco 49ers. If that is the case and concerns about Allen’s arthritis are legitimate, then the selection of the draft’s best running back makes plenty of sense.
What Oehser writes for the site is certainly not the definitive word on the Jaguars, of course. There are plenty of other options to consider, not least of which being tight end O.J. Howard if the Jags truly want an offensive spark. For now, however, Fournette is the pick.