Fournette to Jags: Sign Newton; Jags to NFL: Anyone Want Fournette?
Social scientists established long ago something called the two-step flow of communication.
Its main postulate is that messages are more effective when the targeted receiver gets them from opinion leaders.
These days, it's catchier to call them influencers.
For our purposes, let's stick with the original term, because the point in question here is for the message to be effective, the one who delivers it must have an opinion and be a leader.
In that respect, Leonard Fournette is 1-for-2.
Dude came outta LSU after an injury-curtailed junior season but still became the No 4 overall draft pick in 2017, whereupon he assumed the role of premier RB for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
To be fair, Fournette's had his share of moments ...
— 7⃣ Leonard Fournette (@_fournette) December 22, 2019
Two 1000-yard rushing seasons in his three pro campaigns isn't bad per se, but when:
- his pedestrian 4.0 yards-per-carry average is figured into it, along with
- his meager 522 yards gained on 100 targets, and
- his hitting the crib only 3 times in 15 games ...
It's easy to understand that the Jags' Doug Marrone and Dave Caldwell are as underwhelmed as the fantasy leagues are with his production.
Moves were afoot after this past season to determine if any other team thought they could get more outta Fournette.
The short answer: nope.
Now, though, dude's gotta know.
Jaguars have had trade discussions with other teams regarding RB Leonard Fournette, league sources tell ESPN. Fournette is due $4.16 million in base salary in 2020. It's a situation that bears watching as this week's draft approaches.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 18, 2020
Nevertheless, it didn't deter him from voicing his opinion as to how to make Jax a winner:
Sign Cam Newton.
Seems like the last time Marrone and Caldwell checked, when the topic is player personnel, Fournette's opinion on it didn't exactly make him a leader.
In fact, his incessant promotion of signing Newton was going over like a fart in church.
Jags Managment when Fournette said he wanted Cam: pic.twitter.com/u9Azn3xgK9
— Rosa Parks’s Burner Account (@Rosasburner) April 18, 2020
And so it is that in deciding Newton's the perfect person to push the popular -- and less expensive -- Gardner Minshew while being as subtle as a sledge hammer about what he believes that outcome would be, Fournette's trade value has gone from:
- what can Jax get for him to
- just get something for him.
Dude's carrying an $8.6million cap hit for the 2020 season. If that's not a Draft Day 3 deal in the making, what is?
Clearly, Fournette overestimated his standing within the organization.
Maybe he'll need to recalibrate his status should he ever decide to roll out his next foray into opinion leadership.
It'd probably be wise to first lower the bar.