Leonard Fournette says the NFL is ‘a lot slower than I thought’

Jacksonville Jaguars first round pick Leonard Fournette made his preseason debut on Thursday evening against the New England Patriots. He finished the day with nine carries for 31 yards and a touchdown, but he didn’t really have any flashy plays.

He did have some plays that showed you he has the ability to be special, though. The best part was Fournette didn’t look out of place or like he was swimming in his head. But, perhaps that’s because the game was a lot slower than he expected.

“It’s a lot slower than I thought,” Fournette said after the game. “A lot of people said it was going to be fast, but playing in the SEC, I think that really helped me out.”

Fournette’s longest run on the night was just nine yards, but it was how he got a lot of his yards that was impressive. There weren’t a lot of running lanes, but the rookie running back was still able to fall forward for positive yards. There was even a play that was blown up in the backfield and he was able to hop-step, spin and cut to the outside for positive yards.

You’d like to not see him do that, because more often than not it will result in negative yardage, but he definitely showed the ability to grind for yards, something that will pay dividends in real games in the fourth quarter.