The 2017 NFL Draft gets going two weeks from Thursday, and the rumor mill might be close to peaking. The latest comes courtesy of CBS Sports reporter Jason La Canfora. He wrote on Monday that Leonard Fournette has the best chance of providing a notable shock in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Specifically, “Some have suggested to me that Fournette is even in play at No. 1 with the Browns.”
Well, alrighty then.
La Canfora wrote that he does not think they pass on Myles Garrett, but offers up the notion that Cleveland’s analytics leanings could somehow create a surprise.
That aside, I do wonder what would lead to this kind of information leaking out. My guess is the Browns remain open to a potential trade from the No. 1 pick. They would want a Godfather kind of offer for the pick, but this at least makes it known the pick is potentially available.
It sounds similar to the mentions that the 49ers are interested in Fournette. They very well might be, but it is just as likely, if not more so, that they would like to move down. There’s a rumbling that the Panthers might be interested in moving up to No. 2, and they have been regularly mentioned as a team looking for a running back.
Myles Garrett seems like the clear choice at No. 1, but a trade could very well shake things up. I would be surprised if anything happened other than Garrett to the Browns, but there is plenty of time remaining for trade discussions to happen.