The Jacksonville Jaguars got their man. After a trade that may have made general manager David Caldwell sweat a bit, the Jaguars took running back Leonard Fournette of LSU. And with that, Blake Bortles has to be smiling.
Fournette gives the Jaguars’ offense a home run threat they did not have with TJ Yeldon or Chris Ivory.
According to Ron Clements of The Sporting News, the Jaguars ranked in the bottom third in rushing offense last season and Fournette is the type of workhorse back they can use to take some pressure off quarterback Blake Bortles. AN ankle injury bothered Fournette last year. Yet, the 6-foot, 240-pound back still managed to average 6.5 yards per carry and score eight touchdowns. That came after he ran for 1,953 yards and 22 scores as a true sophomore.
He is the bell cow back Tom Coughlin, the team’s executive vice president likes to help balance the passing game.
Leonard Fournette set LSU’s single-season record for rushing as a sophomore. Furthermore, he left LSU as the school’s fourth-leading rusher with 3,830 yards and 40 touchdowns. Fournette is one of only two running backs in college football to post at least five 200-yard rushing games. Only Wyoming’s Brian Hill, who is expected to be a mid-round pick, has more.
I love this pick. There are other needs on this team as well. With Jacksonville also needing interior offensive linemen, a safety, and another pass rusher. However, the thought of Fournette adding another offensive weapon with Bortles, wide receivers Allen Robinson, Marqise Lee and Allen Hurns – has the fans getting excited at EverBank Field.
If fans needed a reason why the Jaguars picked Leonard Fournette, then how about this. Yeldon, who was Jacksonville’s leading rusher last season with just 465 yards. Yeldon scored only once on the ground. Consequently, the Jaguars had just eight rushing touchdowns, three of which were from Bortles.