Leonard Fournette blew the hinges off the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine when he showed up at 240 pounds and ran an unofficial 4.51-second 40 time.
240 LBs — 6'1/2''
Don't let his size fool you. He can flat out FLY. #NFLCombine https://t.co/LXm73bPq9O
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) March 3, 2017
Fournette’s 40 time absolutely stunned the scouting community, which had, not an hour before this, been a bit turned off by his 28.5-inch vertical.
Fournette running 4.51 @ 240 pounds will impress a lot of coaches. DBs aren't trying to hit a freight train in the open field..
— Bucky Brooks (@BuckyBrooks) March 3, 2017
240 pounds running at 4.50
Good luck tackling that.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) March 3, 2017
https://twitter.com/JoshNorris/status/837731116270354432
Apparently, those who cover the NFL for a living weren’t the only ones whose eyes were popping out of their skulls a bit after watching Fournette burn up the track.
Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report shared a message an NFL front office executive sent to him that could spice up the upcoming NFL draft.
Quick text from front office exec: "Fournette just made this draft a lot more interesting. More teams will want to make move into top 5."
— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) March 3, 2017
Fournette could very well follow in the footsteps of Ezekiel Elliott, who more than proved his worth as the No. 4 overall pick in last year’s draft for the Dallas Cowboys. While the NFL game is more and more about passing the ball these days, it cannot be denied that certain running backs can still tip the balance of the scales in the favor of their teams if utilized properly.
Fournette has some injury concerns after missing much of the 2016 campaign with an ankle issue. But clearly, this hasn’t stopped him from training hard and impressing the heck out of people who aren’t easily impressed. It’s going to be fascinating to see if a contending NFL team does indeed make a bold move up in the draft to secure his services.