Lions Make Mistake Not Signing Leonard Fournette

Read more on why former NFL scout Daniel Kelly believes the Lions made a mistake by not signing Leonard Fournette.

I would say it is the most bizarre situation I have seen in the NFL in all my years of watching the game.

Leonard Fournette, the former star running back at LSU and first-round pick of the Jaguars in 2017, got cut this past week. 

What is even more bizarre to me is that he actually cleared waivers after producing 1,674 combined rushing and receiving yards in 2019.

However, he was not without a team for long. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed him.

The way the story goes is that Jacksonville was unable to find a team to make a trade with, so they cut him.

I feel strongly that the Lions dropped the ball by not picking him up. 

In my mind, Fournette would have immediately made the Lions better, and he would have been that featured back the Lions so desperately need. 

Fournette would have given the Lions a dynamic player in the backfield that they do not presently have. 

It just does not make sense to me ... or maybe it does. 

I can only wonder if Lions head man Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn both being a part of the Bill Belichick “tree" played a large part in the decision to pass on Fournette. 

Tom Coughlin, the former vice president of football operations in Jacksonville, did not seem to be a part of Fournette’s fan club from stories revolving around their time together. 

I was part of that Bill Parcells/Belichick tree during my time with the Jets, which is what makes me really wonder. 

Outside of that, in my mind, I am really struggling to make sense of it.

I never have trusted politics. And I looked at all the “drama” that surrounded him, and none of it added up to him being cut. 

Teams like Jacksonville cannot afford to cut a player like this. 

That is why I never have trusted the politics -- not when I was in the league and not during my time being out of the league.

But, I always have and always will trust the game film.

This is my evaluation of Leonard Fournette.

RB #27 Leonard Fournette - 6’0, 228 pounds 

GRADE: B+ (Good player, but not elite; good enough to win with, however)

Scouting Report 

A dual-threat, compact-and-stout-built starter for the Jaguars in 2019 with above-average speed and excellent vision and balance. Signed with Tampa Bay. 

Sleek-looking runner with quick feet and a nose for holes. Showed the ability to exploit creases and really get going. Speed builds like a snowball rolling downhill. Does not have the true elite home run-hitting speed, but he is fast enough to pick up substantial yardage either running or receiving. Physical runner who can dish it out with a punishing edge to him. Tough to bring down. Can stay on his feet very well when encountering contact. Tended to catch the ball with his hands. Good hands. Showed ability to concentrate and look the ball into his hands in traffic. Gave off the feeling he is always moving forward in his body language. Impressive on the field, with mostly minor drama off the field. 

Career NFL numbers: 4.0 average yards per carry, 7.5 yards per reception and three fumbles. Can strongly contribute to a team. Has shown to be durable in two of his three seasons (2017: 13 games played; 2019: 15 GP). 

Tampa Bay stole Leonard Fournette.

No team in the NFL finds someone with his talent or his production just sitting on waivers. 

Fournette is a legitimate starting running back.

I get that his numbers dropped in 2018, and I studied all the question marks that surrounded him back then. I saw all about the petty drama that surrounded him. I also saw how he bounced back. 

To me, most of the petty drama felt like a personality clash that was not driven by Fournette. 

It is well known that Fournette’s personality may rub some people the wrong way.

In two of his three seasons in Jacksonville, Fournette put up over 1,000 yards on the ground.

Fournette is also a legitimate threat to receive the ball out of the backfield. 

This is not just somebody who is an afterthought in the passing game.

Jacksonville targeted him 100 times last season alone, and he grabbed 76 of those passes for 522 yards and a 6.9 receiving yards average. 

I liked watching Fournette on film. I liked what I saw. 

Take a look at his 2019 highlights on YouTube vs. the Broncos and the Jets as an example. 

If I was a GM and I needed a legitimate starting running back and I saw a guy like this on waivers, I would have claimed him in a heartbeat. 

To give Lions’ management the benefit of the doubt, perhaps a team like the Lions -- which are desperately fighting to build a positive culture -- just did not want to take a chance on Fournette based on his background. 

He could potentially disrupt a harmonious locker room. And after seeing Darius Slay move on, maybe Detroit did not want to repeat history.

However, at the same time, a player with this background and this kind of upside is worth it, in my mind, because the bottom line in the National Football League is winning football games. 

I just cannot ignore that nagging feeling within me that says not signing Fournette is going to prove to be the Lions' first fumble of the season when we look back. 

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