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On Thursday, LSU running back Leonard Fournette took out two $10 million insurance policies as a precaution incase the injury bug bites during the upcoming 2016 season. Fournette, of course, is widely considered as one of the top prospects in his class and could potentially be one of the first players off the board come the 2017 NFL draft.
It was a smart move on his behalf, and comes to no surprise. But there’s also another option that would guarantee Fournette’s health heading into his professional career: sitting out.
ESPN’s Jemele Hill took to Twitter on Friday to express her opinion on the matter; she believes Fournette would still be a highly-draftable prospect — top-pick worthy, even — if he were to decide to remove himself from the gridiron altogether this fall.
Know what would be easier? Sitting out the season. But anywho … https://t.co/eftSPKCFeI
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) May 13, 2016
yep. I'm an advocate of players having choices.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) May 13, 2016
ppl would have less of an issue with players not getting paid if the NCAA face players more options
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) May 13, 2016
yeah .. And then they'd draft him anyway
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) May 13, 2016
no, but plenty have given little to no effort or milked injuries and still were taken high. See: JaDaveon Clowney
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) May 13, 2016
Though she’s certainly not the only person to have shared this opinion, she makes a compelling argument. This was a hot topic surrounding former South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney leading into his junior season, and though he decided to go through with it and play that year, he suffered noticeable regressions and didn’t seem to give 100 percent on every down.
He was still selected No. 1 overall in the 2014 NFL Draft, and that probably would have remained the same had he decided to sit out that season.
Fournette projects to be a top selection next April, and currently is slotted to be taken by the New Orleans Saints with the No. 5 overall pick, per WalterFootball.com. Don’t expect him to consider this as a realistic possibility, but it’s still something worth talking about.
Tyler Waddell is a member of the Saturday Down South news team. He brings over five years of professional journalism experience and is closing in on a Bachelor's in sports management. Follow him on Twitter (@Tyler_Waddell).
