By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

On draft night as I sat in the living room of maybe the biggest Jaguar fan I know we were joking around about who Jacksonville would select.

Then to the joy of the Jaguar Nation the Commissioner uttered these beautiful words, ‘with the fourth pick of the 2017 NFL Draft the Jacksonville Jaguars select Leonard Fournette running back LSU’ and the Jags instantly became contenders in the AFC South.

When you talk to people around the SEC and they say Fournette is the best combination of speed and power since Herschel and Bo; look at his numbers. Fournette plays at around 235 pounds and ran a 4.5 forty at the combine. He has home run speed as evidenced by his TD runs over 75 yards at LSU. We are talking about SEC defenses here and not the Sun Belt.

Fournette led the nation in rushing in 2015 and broke the single season rushing record in the SEC that Herschel Walker held for 34 years.

What is Jacksonville getting in Fournette? They are getting a guy who needs to carry the ball 20-25 times a game. They are getting a guy who can run over you or around you and one who can take it to the house on any play.

NFL defenses are a lot faster than SEC defenses so you won’t have the 70-80 yard TD runs that often. I think they are getting a three down back, as well as Fournette has demonstrated in workouts that he can catch the ball out of the backfield.

What does the addition of Fournette mean to a Jaguar offense that struggled in 2016? It means he brings balance to a unit now that is set at RB and WR. The OL has upgraded by adding Cam Robinson and the only question mark now is can Blake Bortles produce now that the front office has added the missing pieces.

The negativity police say you should not draft a running back in the top five anymore, but didn’t the Cowboys confront that myth last year when they drafted Ezekiel Elliott with the third pick and he led the Cowboys to a division title and top seed in the NFC?

Jacksonville has one of the better defensive rosters in the league and now with the addition of Fournette the pieces are in place on offense to be contenders in the AFC. Yeah, I know you will think I’m crazy, but this team is not that far off from being really good. Will it show up in the win/loss record in 2017? I’m not sure but I think this team can win 9-11 games in 2017 if key injuries do not occur.

Back to Fournette, this kid is a beast and when healthy will be a top 5 back in the NFL. Jacksonville got their man in LF7, and now the fan base seems energized. Tom Coughlin is back calling the shots in the front office and we know Coughlin is the man in Jax.

I’m looking forward to watching the 2017 Jacksonville Jaguars and Leonard Fournette is the missing piece of the puzzle to get the Jaguars to the playoffs. If you don’t believe Fournette is the man just ask Tray Matthews at Auburn he’ll tell you.

I believe Blake Bortles, with the addition of a running game now with Fournette, will prove that he is an elite QB in 2017 and beyond.

Fournette is the man in the River City for the next 10 years.