Written by ESPN Staff at ESPN.com
One preseason game into his NFL career, Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette thinks he has it all figured out.
“It’s a lot slower than I really thought,” Fournette told NFL.com after the Jaguars’ 31-24 victory over the New England Patriots on Thursday night. “That’s how I’ve been since I first got into the NFL. A lot of people were like, ‘It’s going to be fast.’ But by me playing in the SEC, that kind of helped me a lot.
“I think, to me, it was really easy.”
Fournette, the No. 4 overall pick in the draft out of LSU, rushed for 31 yards on nine carries and scored on a 1-yard touchdown run.
“I’ve had pressure my whole life,” Fournette told NFL Network. “I’m built for it. No matter what the circumstances, I’ve never let the game get bigger than me and I’ve always stayed humble. That’s No. 1.”
Fournette has said during training camp that he has felt comfortable and, since players started wearing pads, things seemed slower and “the play is coming to you.”
He told NFL.com after Thursday’s game that he thinks he could put together a rookie season similar to what Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott had in 2016.
Elliott led the NFL in rushing last season with 1,631 yards on 322 carries — the third-highest yardage total for a rookie rusher in NFL history and the third-highest attempts by a rookie since 2000. Only LaDainian Tomlinson (339 in 2001) and Alfred Morris (335 in 2012) had more carries.
“Yeah, I think so,” Fournette said. “… I’m a confident guy, and I try to give my offensive line confidence too. You have to feel like you can’t be stopped.”
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