How High Can Fournette Go in 2017 -- Mike Detillier (1 Viewer)

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How High Can Fournette Go in 2017

By Mike Detillier

In back to back years NFL teams have picked a running back within the top 10 picks of the NFL draft. This certainly sets the stage for LSU halfback Leonard Fournette in 2017.

Since the Cincinnati Bengals selected Penn State running back Ki-Jana Carter with the top overall selection in 1995 no other running back has gone first overall.

On virtually every 2017 draft board set up today by respective NFL teams the very talented Tiger halfback sits at the very top, but based on recent draft classes that top spot will be occupied by a quarterback.

Fournette will likely battle Clemson star quarterback DeShaun Watson, Ole Miss gunslinger signal-caller Chad Kelly and Texas A&M standout pass rush defensive end Myles Garrett for the top overall spot in 2017, but the selection of Ezekiel Elliott by the Dallas Cowboys with the fourth overall selection in Round One, may open the door for Fournette to be the top overall selection.

The halfback position has been devalued due to running back methods adopted by virtually every NFL team (running back by committee). But I believe that the talent and production of 2015 first round pick Todd Gurley, who the St. Louis (now Los Angeles) Rams halfback picked with the tenth overall choice, and the player I expect to be the 2016 NFL rookie of the year in Ezekiel Elliott, will help the cause for Fournette.

In my thirty years scouting talent Fournette is the most physically gifted football player I have ever seen at LSU in that timeframe and if a team with a talented young quarterback would have the top overall choice he just may get that call with the top overall pick.

Fournette is just not a big back with power, but he has sprinter’s type speed, great field vision, he is a terrific receiver coming out of the backfield and a very good pass protector.

He is everything an NFL team would look for in a star halfback.

Since 1995 when the Bengals selected Ki-Jana Carter the halfback spot has come close to being selected just one time with the top overall slot, and that was in 2006.

  • In 2006 the Houston Texans and then-general manager Charley Casserly made a last second decision to select North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams over then-USC halfback Reggie Bush, who went to the New Orleans Saints with the second overall pick.

  • The year before-- in 2005-- the Miami Dolphins selected Auburn halfback Ronnie Brown with the second overall choice.

  • In 2012 the Cleveland Browns selected Alabama halfback Trent Richardson with the third overall pick.

  • In 1999 the Indianapolis Colts selected Miami (Fla.) running back Edgerrin James with the fourth overall selection.

  • In 2005 the Chicago Bears picked Texas running back Cedric Benson with the fourth overall choice.

  • In 2008 the Oakland Raiders selected Arkansas halfback Darren McFadden with the fourth overall choice.

  • In the 2016 NFL draft the Dallas Cowboys selected Ohio State halfback Ezekiel Elliott with the fourth overall pick.

  • In 1998 the Chicago Bears selected Penn State halfback Curtis Enis with the fifth overall selection.

  • In 1999 the New Orleans Saints with the fifth overall selection picked Texas halfback Ricky Williams.

  • In 2000 the Baltimore Ravens picked Tennessee halfback Jamal Lewis with the fifth overall pick.

  • In 2001 the San Diego Chargers with the fifth overall selection picked a really good halfback in LaDainian Tomlinson from TCU.

  • In 2005 the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Carnell “Cadillac” Williams from Auburn in the fifth overall slot.

In 21 drafts since the Bengals selected Carter with the top overall choice, a halfback has picked only 12 times with one of the top five overall selections.

From 1980 thru 1994 11 halfbacks were selected within the top five overall choices and three of them, (1980) Billy Sims Oklahoma (Detroit Lions), (1981) George Rogers South Carolina (New Orleans Saints) and (1986) and Bo Jackson Auburn (Tampa Bay Bucs), were picked 1st overall.

My radio colleague Bobby Hebert has a saying that “Quarterbacks trump all other positions” and he is on target with that statement, but if there is a halfback that could break that string of halfbacks going first overall, it would be LSU’s Leonard Fournette.


Petrino on Rankins

Last week on a Monday night addition of the “2nd Guess Show” on WWL-Radio Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino raved about New Orleans Saints first round pick Sheldon Rankins.

“We are going to miss him at Louisville, no doubt about it,” said Petrino. “He’s a talented football player, awfully quick for a big man in the middle and disruptive. His ability to get off the snap sticks out along with his hand usage to get off a block. Sheldon is soft-spoken, but he lets his play on the field do all the talking.

Where we will miss him also is as a leader. He was tough, relentless, a leader on and off the field and a great worker. He was always looking to gain an edge in the filmroom. He didn’t come here as a super highly recruited player, but he worked and worked very hard to make himself one of the elite defenders in college football.

Everyone asks me to compare Sheldon to someone and the one guy we had in Jacksonville with the Jaguars he reminds me a lot of is Gary Walker. He was an Auburn guy and he played so well for us in Jacksonville. He was a two-time Pro Bowl player and he was a menace in the middle. Sheldon reminds me so much of him.”


Anthony Learning All the LB Spots

I got a chance to speak to New Orleans Saints linebacker Stephone Anthony last week when we co-hosted the John Fourcade Show on WHNO TV-20 in New Orleans.

Anthony, who was picked late in Round One, spoke about his transition from college to pro football and that with the addition of former St. Louis Rams middle linebacker James Laurinaitis he is now learning all three linebacker spots.

“I think I played pretty well last season in spots, but I know there is still a learning curve for me to get better,” Anthony said. “I have worked hard on taking better angles to the ball and it was different on how quickly the running backs and tight ends pressed you in the coverage part of the game. I wasn’t use to players getting on top of me that quick in the coverage part of the game, but I got better as the season went on and it is a part of the game I want to excel at. You just can’t be a two-down player in this league and I want to contribute on third down plays too.

With the addition of (James) Laurinaitis I am learning all three spots (Will, Sam and Mike) and Coach (Dennis) Allen and Coach Joe (Vitt) just want to get the three best linebackers on the field and the more I can do, the more I can help. I just want to help this team win. James is a great addition to our team for his talent, his leadership and his knowledge of the game. He just doesn’t take false steps to the ball carrier.”

Last season the former Clemson standout linebacker totaled 112 total tackles, 70 solo tackles, 5 pass deflections, 2 forced fumbles and 1 pass interception. Against Carolina in Week 12 Anthony stripped the ball away from Panthers halfback Jonathan Stewart and raced into the endzone for a touchdown.

In the same game he became the first person in NFL history to return a blocked kick for two points after defensive tackle Kevin Williams blocked an extra point. In 2015 Anthony recorded 100 tackles as a rookie and became the first Saints’ rookie to do this since NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Rickey Jackson back in 1981.

“I am honored to have my name alongside Rickey (Jackson) in what I did as a rookie, but I know there is still a lot for me to accomplish and last season I learned as a rookie they don’t give you this stuff teaspoon style, its tablespoon and you have to process it as fast as you can. I feel more comfortable in my surroundings today. Joe Vitt handled Hau’oli (Kikaha) and me with some tough love stuff, but he was also the most encouraging person too. It’s a dream come true for me here to play in the NFL and in front of the Who Dat Nation. I know if we can make some big plays on defense we can get that Superdome rocking with Drew Brees playing quarterback. I still catch myself just in awe of what Drew (Brees) can do out on the field.”

Anthony says he is excited with the additions of both defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins and safety Vonn Bell, two players he went up against in college.

“My Clemson team played against both and so I know them well. Rankins is a playmaker in the middle. He’s tough to block and he plays the run strong. But he sticks out as a pass rusher from the inside. No quarterback wants to feel pressure from the middle. Vonn Bell is a tough run defender coming up the field, but he can also cover well. He’s real smooth with his backpedal and he is rangy. I can’t wait to see both of them on the practice field.”

After a little prodding Anthony admitted it was clearly an easy choice on who was the best football player we went up against last season in the NFL.

“It’s Cam Newton from Carolina. He’s phenomenal as a talent. There is just one like him. Cam’s a huge man, powerful, very fast for a big man and he has improved so much as a pocket passer. Everywhere he has been he has won. That’s how they measure quarterbacks on wins and he’s tough to go against. We played Carolina well last season and we had a chance to win both games and we came up a little short. They have won the NFC South three straight years and so it’s our job to break the streak. But Newton’s the best football player I have went up against college or pro.”


Archie On Peyton

Last week former New Orleans Saints great quarterback Archie Manning, the father of Peyton and Eli Manning, came to Thibodaux Regional Medical Center’s annual crawfish boil and seminar for high school coaches on injuries and the former quarterback spoke about Peyton’s retirement and his immediate future.

“To be honest I really didn’t know if Peyton would return for the 2015 season and it was a great run to go out with a Super Bowl victory, but I told him the NFL is not for 40-year old men,” Manning, a spokesperson for Thibodaux Regional Medical Center, said.

“Peyton has gotten a lot of offers television wise and from other outlets, but for 2016 he wants to go watch a lot more college football than he has in the past and certainly he wants to see Eli play more in New York.

I am really proud of him in his accomplishments as a player, like any dad would, like the most wins of any quarterback in NFL history (186) is special. The comments from folks that played with him are just overwhelming. Jeff Saturday, his center with the Indianapolis Colts and now on ESPN said that “Peyton was the best teammate he ever had” and that’s real special for a dad to hear about his son. He will be around a lot I’m sure and it’s just another page for him to turn in his life.”


Follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeDetillier
 

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