Leonard Fournette proves he’s no longer washed vs. Panthers

Leonard Fournette came up big in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Week 2 victory.

As it turns out, Leonard Fournette isn’t totally washed after all.

In his second game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the former No. 4 overall pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2017 NFL Draft was a huge reason his team improved to 1-1. After a dreadful five-yard performance in Week 1’s loss to the New Orleans Saints, Fournette rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries in Week 2’s win over the Carolina Panthers.

If Leonard Fournette keeps this up, then the Buccaneers are a playoff team.

Add in four catches for 13 yards and Fournette may be a reason the Buccaneers win and not lose like his former team did. Having the greatest quarterback of all time handing you the football in Tom Brady helps, but so does having one of the best receiving corps in the NFL. Just wait until Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are fully healthy. This Buccaneers offense is about to be cooking.

With the Jaguars falling to 1-1 on the year by narrowly losing to the Tennessee Titans in Nashville, maybe the could have used Fournette to help propel them to victory? Too bad we’ll never know, as Fournette calls another Florida NFL franchise home these days. Unlike down in Duval, Fournette can get to the playoffs and possibly play at home in Raymond James Stadium in Super Bowl 55.

Okay, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, but Tampa Bay should be a playoff team, just like Jacksonville should be picking in the top 10. Who cares if the Panthers are not a good football team? When you’re a good football team, you beat bad teams like the Panthers and collect the W, thank you very much. Fournette might actually get to taste what playing for an NFL winner is like.

This was one of those performances that remind us of how dominant Fournette was coming out of high school and how good he could look at times starring for LSU. That feels like eons ago, but that was only four years ago he was running all over SEC defenses for the Bayou Bengals and head coach Ed Orgeron. Times may change, but talent remains. It’s a matter of fully tapping into it.

For at least a week, the whole narrative of Fournette being washed as been laid to rest.