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CBS’s Jason La Canfora wrote on Monday that sources have informed him LSU running back Leonard Fournette is on the rise, and a weak class may lead to him becoming a top-five pick. Canfora said that Fournette has been referred to as a “best-of-breed player” and that NFL teams are wary of missing out on what could be the best player in the draft.
Prior to last year’s emergence of Ezekiel Elliott, the fourth overall pick in the draft, the common wisdom was that running backs were a dime a dozen in the current pass-happy version of the NFL. There were plenty of examples to prove this logic, with Alabama’s Trent Richardson flaming out after being taken third, while undrafted players such as Arian Foster made Pro Bowl after Pro Bowl.
With elite size, speed, toughness, and vision, Fournette certainly looks more like Elliott than Richardson, at least at this point.
La Canfora even mentioned that Fournette may be in play for the Browns at No. 1 overall, though he said he didn’t totally buy it.
This draft comes as a perfect storm for a back like Fournette, as the class is rather pedestrian at quarterback and receiver. Teams looking to address their offensive woes may prefer to gamble on the bankable assets of Fournette rather than the unknown arms of players like Mitchell Trubisky and DeShone Kizer.
A former resident of both Baton Rouge and the heart of Crimson Tide country, Will Ogburn handles multimedia content and news coverage for Saturday Down South.
