Fournette - what to do with him

[lukkynumber13]

Hahahahaha. I almost posted this myself.
Wow. Wow. Wow.

He's special. No question. Generational talent. Easy 1.01 and the best rookie we have had come out in a while

He's already "the best rookie in awhile"? Better than Zeke, Amari Cooper, Mike Evans, OBJ...?

[schiewerma21]

From a scout grade standpoint he likely is.

Mcshay has him as a 95 (the top overall player in the class)

Zeke was a 93 at the END of the draft process. Gurley was a 92. Evans was a 94. Beckham was a 93 and Watkins was a 96. Cooper was also a 94.

I think fournette will be a 96 grade or higher when all said and done throughout the draft process. So from a NFL ready prospect yes I believe what I said is correct.

Forget landing spot, forget how big of a fantasy producer he could be out of gate. I'm purely stating as a talent here.

[Crwdstunna]

Hahahahaha. I almost posted this myself.
Wow. Wow. Wow.

He's special. No question. Generational talent. Easy 1.01 and the best rookie we have had come out in a while

He's already "the best rookie in awhile"? Better than Zeke, Amari Cooper, Mike Evans, OBJ...?

From a talent standpoint coming into the NFL? Yes. Don't be stubborn haha

[DynoScout]

He's a blue chip, but I have not crowned him 1.01, yet.

In terms of comparing him to recent rookies, at this moment I prefer both Bulldog Gurley and Buckeye Elliott over Tiger Fournette. Both have more nuance and integrated technique as foundation to their game and to me that translates more predictably to the NFL than what Fournette offers, right now (because I acknowledge that Fourntette could still learn technique and nuance).
Fournette is a blue chip because he is physically dominant against NCAA defenders - more physically dominant than Gurley and Zeke. However, I don't see the same level of professional skills when I watch Fournette play, likely in-part because he has been able to rely on being bigger/stronger/faster his entire life. That advantage may/may not translate to the NFL, but either way we haven't seen it yet.

That said, I like Fournette and he may end up my 1.01 in 2017 rookie drafts. Aside from his ridiculous H/W/S, what I like most about him is his balance and power when he's running with his head up. He can absorb and deliver blows with any of the best backs in recent memory. However, there are many times he drops his head and just crowns defenders - negating what I rate as his best skill - because at this level he can plow those defenders for positive yardage, get up, and do it again and again. We don't see many RBs drop their heads as routinely against NFL defenses and be successful over the long term. Basically AD is the only one who comes to mind who had this habit as a prospect and worked out to meet/exceed top 10 expectations in the modern era.

I didn't realize I had this much to say about LF, when all I came to write was, "Wow, what a showing yesterday - thanks for the reminder Leonard! Special, special talent."
He's definitely a throwback kind of player, and fun to watch. Also, most NFL decision makers are throwbacks, too. I'm sure they love this guy.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far! - dynoscout

[Phaded]

Calling a player "the best rookie to come out in a while" in October (when he is almost a year away from an NFL snap) is just asking for trouble.

Yes, he's very good - but many players who have looked this good in college have not translated it to the NFL. Then again, many have. Time will tell.

He'll be a high 1st in rookie drafts and deserving of it; but I wonder how the view of him will change when a team like the Browns draft him (or another bad franchise). Everyone loved Gurley; but look at what the Rams have done to him. Situation plays a massive factor in NFL production for RBs; as much as people tote "talent first".

I expected Zeke to be great in the NFL regardless; but going to the Cowboys clearly amplified his production ten fold.

[People Mover]

Fournette is overrated along with this class.

[amazehayes]

I don't believe Fournette will translate well into the pros because I don't think he's an NFL player. He is sorta dominant in college has had minor nagging injuries. I am a firm believer he relies too much on straight talent and is a very predictable runner that will be stopped by 8 defenders in the box in the NFL especially if he lands on a team with zero passing attack. I think the only way he'll do well is if he lands somewhere like Indy or Oakland.

[Dookmarriot]

Fournette is a blue chip because he is physically dominant against NCAA defenders - more physically dominant than Gurley and Zeke. However, I don't see the same level of professional skills when I watch Fournette play, likely in-part because he has been able to rely on being bigger/stronger/faster his entire life. That advantage may/may not translate to the NFL, but either way we haven't seen it yet.

That's my thinking too. He's a fabulous talent, but he's won more on physical prowess than technique. There's always the worry that when he moves up a step, that he won't be able to bully his way to effectiveness.

That said, just because he hasn't mastered those techniques - and he has shown some improvement in that regard - doesn't mean he can't. I think sometimes we can make errors assuming players can't progress or learn. I'll likely have the 1.01 in two of my leagues, and he'll be in strong consideration.

[Litesout13]

From a scout grade standpoint he likely is.

Mcshay has him as a 95 (the top overall player in the class)

Zeke was a 93 at the END of the draft process. Gurley was a 92. Evans was a 94. Beckham was a 93 and Watkins was a 96. Cooper was also a 94.

I think fournette will be a 96 grade or higher when all said and done throughout the draft process. So from a NFL ready prospect yes I believe what I said is correct.

Forget landing spot, forget how big of a fantasy producer he could be out of gate. I'm purely stating as a talent here.

I like Fournette, he is my RB1 right now...with that said, I had Zeke ranked higher than I have Fournette right now.

As far as the OP, I value WR higher than I do RB, especially in PPR leagues. And with the RB class being deeper than normal, I will be targeting guys like Mike Williams and Corey Davis at the top of the draft over any of the RBs

[Litesout13]

Fournette is a blue chip because he is physically dominant against NCAA defenders - more physically dominant than Gurley and Zeke. However, I don't see the same level of professional skills when I watch Fournette play, likely in-part because he has been able to rely on being bigger/stronger/faster his entire life. That advantage may/may not translate to the NFL, but either way we haven't seen it yet.

That's my thinking too. He's a fabulous talent, but he's won more on physical prowess than technique. There's always the worry that when he moves up a step, that he won't be able to bully his way to effectiveness.

That said, just because he hasn't mastered those techniques - and he has shown some improvement in that regard - doesn't mean he can't. I think sometimes we can make errors assuming players can't progress or learn. I'll likely have the 1.01 in two of my leagues, and he'll be in strong consideration.

To be fair, he plays in the SEC where the players are mostly NFL ready in regards to how they are physically. So he has been facing big, strong, fast guys his entire LSU career.

[lukkynumber13]

True but he's also been gameplanned against and stuffed by those NFL-style teams like Bama

[Cameron Giles]

Fournette is a blue chip because he is physically dominant against NCAA defenders - more physically dominant than Gurley and Zeke. However, I don't see the same level of professional skills when I watch Fournette play, likely in-part because he has been able to rely on being bigger/stronger/faster his entire life. That advantage may/may not translate to the NFL, but either way we haven't seen it yet.

That's my thinking too. He's a fabulous talent, but he's won more on physical prowess than technique. There's always the worry that when he moves up a step, that he won't be able to bully his way to effectiveness.

That said, just because he hasn't mastered those techniques - and he has shown some improvement in that regard - doesn't mean he can't. I think sometimes we can make errors assuming players can't progress or learn. I'll likely have the 1.01 in two of my leagues, and he'll be in strong consideration.

I would gladly take my chances. Statistically, Fournette has gotten better each year. Sure, there are plenty of times when he can rely on just being a hoss to run teams over. There's nothing wrong with just being more naturally talented than everyone and that should translate to the NFL. Hell, you look at someone like Julio Jones and there are plenty of times that he wins by just being more talented than his opposition. He'll learn more at the next level, but I wouldn't sell him short on skill either.

[flyersfan1981]

True but he's also been gameplanned against and stuffed by those NFL-style teams like Bama

Well to be fair LSU doesn't have a QB that would scare a decent high school team. He basically faces 8-9 man fronts...

[KCLep20]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... -fournette

NFL.com just posted an article comparing him to Bo....not much takeaway, but awfully high praise.

[Phaded]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... -fournette

NFL.com just posted an article comparing him to Bo....not much takeaway, but awfully high praise.

...lol.

He is not close to the athlete that Bo was.
This sounds like NFL is just trying to build the hype train themselves for draft time.