INDIANAPOLIS -- Perhaps Leonard Fournette's five pounds of water weight is still on him.
A day after explaining that his somewhat heavy weigh-in at the NFL Scouting Combine (240 pounds) was merely water weight that he had already lost since arriving, the former LSU star running back recorded a 28.5-inch vertical jump on Friday.
While it would be an overreaction to suggest that Fournette is less of a prospect because of a poor showing in a single combine event, there is no denying just how poor it was. Only two running backs in the last four combines posted worse vertical jumps: Matt Dayes (2017, 28 inches) and another former LSU running back, Kenny Hilliard (2015, 27 inches).
The vertical jump is a test of explosiveness. As for his speed, Fournette didn't miss a beat. He clocked an official time of 4.51 seconds in the 40-yard dash on the fastest of his two attempts. It was the fastest time recorded by a running back weighing 240 pounds or more at the combine since 2003, per NFL Research. NFL.com analyst Chad Reuter said a sub 30-inch vertical jump foretold a 40-yard dash in that range.
"With a vertical like that, it's fair to say that if he runs under a 4.5, that would be a surprise," Reuter said. "Keith Marshall did just 30.5 last year and still ran 4.31, so there's not an exact correlation."
NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks noted concerns about Fournette's 40 time for the same reason.
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