Last week at the NFL Combine, I reported the 49ers will consider Leonard Fournette at No. 2 on KNBR’s airwaves.
The report was met with some obvious skepticism on radio and snark on Twitter. That’s fair for what seems to be a preposterous scenario at first.
But the Fournette movement is gaining steam. The 49ers aren’t going to ignore a talented player just because he’s a running back. On Tuesday, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller mocked the 235-pound LSU product to San Francisco at No. 2 overall. Here’s Miller’s tidbit on why this move makes sense.
Quarterback is a gigantic need here, but the way I hear it the 49ers don’t currently value the quarterbacks in this class as top picks. That could change as the team spends more time getting to know the top passers, but based on now, Leonard Fournette is the top player on the board.
Fournette won’t answer every question mark on the 49ers offense, but he’s a dynamic, generational talent at the running back position. And in Kyle Shanahan’s scheme, Fournette can be a 1,500-yard back, given his explosion.
Trading for Kirk Cousins remains a possibility, but it shouldn’t mean a straight-up trade of the No. 2 overall pick. And with Reuben Foster’s off-field behavior a question, Fournette is the best player on the board for San Francisco.
The obvious counter argument is why force this? Carlos Hyde is in the picture. At the roster’s current state, he’s the best player Lynch and Shanahan have going for them. Why would a team with a grocery list of needs double up at the same position they’re already good at? Why potentially stunt Hyde’s growth? He’ll turn 26 in September and seemingly his best years are ahead of him.
To further distance themselves from drafting Fournette, Shanahan has turned sixth round draft picks, like Alfred Morris, into dynamic 1,500-yard running backs. His dad employed the same strategy for years with Olandis Gary, Mike Anderson and even Hall of Famer Terrell Davis was a late round pick. Part of the reason the Shanahan’s have had success in the NFL is their ability to focus higher draft picks away from the running back position. Kyle has an eye for talent.
Here’s the thing: running back is making its comeback. After being undervalued at the beginning of the passing boom earlier this century, talented players like Ezekiel Elliot and Le’Veon Bell are proving the position is no longer a dime a dozen. These are the types of runners teams win close games with and Fournette may be in that category. If we re-did the 2016 NFL Draft, Elliot would be the first player taken overall.
Everyone at the combine was saying the same thing about Fournette: Built like a linebacker, runs like a receiver. The scouts love all of his adjectives — hips, feet, balance, vision. His body movement is rare for his size and he’s going to be extremely difficult to tackle behind the right offensive line. This whole draft process is a projection and there is enough information to project Fournette as a star player in the NFL.
Other mock drafts have Fournette falling as far as No. 21 to the Detroit Lions. Nothing is set in stone. But as I mentioned yesterday in my winners and losers from the combine, several defensive options at the No. 2 overall pick are trending downwards. Alabama stars Jonathan Allen (shoulder concerns) and Reuben Foster (kicked out of the combine for an outburst on a hospital worker) would honestly seem more risky than taking Fournette. LSU’s Jamal Adams and Ohio State’s Malik Hooker will be in play as safeties. Stanford defensive lineman Solomon Thomas may even get some consideration.
Of course, a team at the ground-level of a rebuild should always be looking to trade back. Generating interest in Fournette could be seen as a ploy to try and swap first-rounders with a middling team willing to take the risk on the LSU prospect. With no clear-cut candidate behind Myles Garrett — especially at quarterback — San Francisco has flexibility.
The 49ers’ fear here is that they don’t want to miss out on an Adrian Peterson just because they have a Carlos Hyde on the roster. You’ll hear Kyle Shanahan say depth is never a bad problem to have in this league.
And for that reason alone the chatter about Fournette will not be quieting any time soon.