Do NFL teams worry Leonard Fournette might not be passionate about the game of football? According to one report, the answer is yes.
“One question that’s faced LSU RB Leonard Fournette concerns his passion for football,” wrote Albert Breer of The MMQB. “And there’s a widespread feeling he’s driven by stardom.”
We’ve seen this all too often in the NFL. A player has all the talent in the world but doesn’t truly love to play. In the end, many of these players end up fizzling out without ever reaching their full potential, leaving the teams that drafted them back at square one.
The buzz surrounding Fournette is that he could legitimately be a top-five player. Heck, it’s even been reported the San Francisco 49ers are “seriously considering” making a move to land him at No. 2 overall. We’re not buying that rumor for one second, but the fact remains he’s a hot item right now.
And based on his college production when healthy, it’s not hard to see why. In 32 career games at LSU, the running back put up 4,356 yards from scrimmage and scored 41 touchdowns.
He also wowed at the combine by running a very fast 40 time (watch here), even at a weight that was well above what people expected.
So it’s easy to understand why he’s got so much buzz heading into the 2017 NFL Draft. That being said, if he isn’t passionate about the game itself and is only driven by stardom, as the report suggests, then it’s likely the grind of the NFL will wear him down.