Leonard Fournette is ready to rumble in Jacksonville.
The No. 4 overall pick signed his four-year contract with the Jaguars on Wednesday, the team announced.
As with all first-round picks, the team owns an option for a fifth year. The deal is fully guaranteed and there is no offset language in the contract, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.
The bulldozing, 6-foot, 232-pound running back was a tackle-breaking machine during his run at LSU. Fournette immediately provides the Jags with a workhorse in the backfield that should help balance the Jags' offense. Coach Doug Marrone said last weekend the team believes the rookie can make the Jags a more physical offense.
"Obviously when we made the pick we were thinking about [how] he can be someone like that," Marrone said, via ESPN. "Obviously he's shown that ability, but at the same sense, when you have the team, the one thing about a team is you have to earn that. So he's going to have to go and show that he has to do that."
While Marrone is sticking to coach-speak saying Fournette needs to "earn" the starting gig, we expect the rookie to be the workhorse out of the gate. He'll leap T.J. Yeldon, Chris Ivory and Corey Grant in the rotation -- possibly making Ivory expendable.
Fournette's presence on the field should take pressure off enigmatic quarterback Blake Bortles from Day 1.
