Leonard Fournette has been on the NFL’s radar since signing with LSU last year as the nation’s top recruit and now, just a few games into his sophomore season, his stock continues to soar.

During a recent SportsCenter appearance, Kiper compared Fournette to Minnesota Vikings ballcarrier Adrian Peterson and says he’s in a league of his own when it comes to current college running backs.

“Ezekiel Elliott is a heck of a back, but this is a special back, an Adrian Peterson-type back,” Kiper said. “6-1, 230 pounds (with) tremendous speed. He is a man among boys. First couple games, almost 400 rushing yards. Think about what he can be out of the backfield, I’d like to see him catch more passes and be able to run over people in the open field that way.

“He was No. 1 coming out of high school and he would be No. 1 on the big board if he were draft-eligible.”

Kiper ranks Ole Miss defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche as the top player overall for next year’s draft.

“He’s a freak Nkemdiche is … a tremendously talented kid,” Kiper said. “He’s the big-time five-star guy, the can’t miss. You want to see a J.J. Watt-type performance week-in and week-out. He’s certainly capable of being a J.J. Watt-type if he can put it together week to week.”