Leonard Fournette: The Hammer and Teal
By Lionel Joel
On April 27th, the Jacksonville Jaguars selected Leonard Fournette with the fourth overall selection of the 2017 NFL Draft.
The 2017 NFL Draft was one of heated, vigorous debates for months among Jaguars’ insiders and fans alike. There was very little agreement on a singular prospect to benefit the organization, especially among experts, fans, and known Jacksonville dullards Ted Stein and Alex Tureman.
Then Jacksonville put the league on notice. Leonard Fournette officially became a Jacksonville Jaguar just before 9:00pm EST. And it was the best thing to happen to the Jaguars since Shad Khan took over the organization in 2012.
Leonard Fournette has been compared to many previous NFL greats, but those comparisons fail to provide situational perspective. Jacksonville is America’s largest city that’s aggressively improving itself to enter “The Best of…” conversations. Leonard Fournette is a beast, working hard to also enter “The best of…” conversations. He is the actual light at the end of a 10 year dark tunnel. He is Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez when the beast of defeat is running us down. Benny needed P.F. Flyers. Leonard needs the faith of his people. At LSU it was the 7th ward in Louisiana, and still is, but now its also the loving and grateful folks of the 904.
What Leonard Fournette provides on the field and in the locker room is wasted on traditional measureables. The Jaguars stockpiled an impressive collection of talent in recent years. What makes this specific group special is the weight with which their hammer swings, which is to say their talent is only matched by their confidence.
It hasn’t happened yet, but there is a violent, overwhelming, thunder-clap hammer-storm stirring in Jacksonville, Florida. Its destructive power is yet to be unleashed. The only guarantee is the desolation forced on those that stand in the way of Telvin Smith, Myles Jack, Yannick Ngakoue, Malik Jackson, and now the monsters named Calais Campbell and Leonard Fournette.
Tom Coughlin and the Jacksonville Jaguars’ blood-lust remains unquenchable.
Jacksonville will never stop swinging the hammer.