Redskins Draft Derrius Guice in Round 2

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Da’Ron Payne & Derrius Guice at their introductory press conference. Photo credit: Jamual Forrest

April 27, 2018; updated 11:30 p.m.

by Steve Thomas

The Redskins drafted LSU running back Derrius Guice with the 27th pick of the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft, 59th overall.  Guice, who stands 5’11” and weighs 218 pounds, was a First-Team All-SEC selection in 2016 and a Second-Team selection in 2017.

Guice, who originally hails from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, gained 3,074 yards on 471 attempts, for an average of 6.5 yards per carry, and 29 touchdowns, in 35 games over three seasons. He also had 32 receptions for 250 yards and 3 touchdowns, in 35 games over three seasons.  In 2017, Guice posted 1,251 yards on 237 carries, for a 5.3 yards per carry average, and 11 touchdowns, and 32 receptions for 250 yards and 2 additional touchdowns.  He was a teammate of Jacksonville Jaguar Leonard Fournette for two years at LSU, and outgained him by yardage in 2016 (Guice 1,387; Fournette 843) and by yards per carry in 2015 (Guice 7.6; Fournette 6.5).

Guice ran the 40 yard dash in 4.49 seconds, bench pressed 225 pounds a total of 15 times, and posted a 31.5 inch vertical leap at the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine.

Guice is Washington’s highest-drafted running back since Ray McDonald was drafted with pick 13 in 1967.  The Redskins have not drafted a running back higher than the third round since Ladell Betts was drafted with the 56th pick in round 2 in 2002. Reggie Brooks was a 2nd round pick, 44th overall, by the Redskins in 1993, and Richard Williams was a second round pick, 56th overall, in 1984.

Guice joins a backfield that already includes 2017 rookie Samaje Perine, 2016 undrafted free agent Rob Kelley, third down specialist Chris Thompson, and others.  Guice will compete to become Washington’s principal starter and hopefully solve the team’s long-standing production problem in the run game.

Redskins head coach Jay Gruden praised Guice’s ability, stating, “[t]his is a hard-nosed runner, plays hard, he can catch a football, he can pass protect, he’s got good vision and [he’s] a guy we really liked in the early rounds.”  Gruden addressed Guice’s role in the running game, providing that “[h]e’s more of a first-, second-down banger….I think he can catch the football fine, but really, our role for him is quite easy to see. It’s first, second down. We have a third-down back. He’s not going to play on third down anyway. Chris [Thompson] is going to be out there, and Chris will be in there a lot, so I think the rotation that we will come up with will be quite beneficial to all the backs. ”

Guice was originally projected to be a first round selection, but dropped to round 2 for reasons rumored to deal with negative visits to other teams and a possible previously unreported altercation.  Gruden addressed these rumors, stating “Yeah, we don’t know anything about that, quite honestly. These reports that come out after the pick, unfortunately we don’t get access to every report on the player so we’ll wait and see and talk to Derrius, but he’s assured us there was no altercation there at all.”  Gruden was otherwise high on Guice as a person, stating that Guice has “some energy, now. He’s got some energy. Just bottle that up and let that unleash on Sundays, not so much on Thursdays and Fridays. But he’s a fun guy to be around and I enjoyed the small time that we had with him, but we’ll wait and see.”

Guice himself spoke to Washington-area media by conference call, and provided that he views himself as “a very physical, powerful runner that doesn’t shy away from contact. I like to compare my game to Marshawn Lynch a lot. That’s the big bro. I talk to him a lot and have gotten a lot of advice from him throughout this process as well. That’s who I put my running style towards.”  He also denied that there was any substance to rumors of an altercation during his pre-draft visit to Philadelphia, and expressed surprise at the leaked rumors, stating, “It did surprise me because a lot of things came out of nowhere and weren’t true, and I just didn’t understand ‘Why me?’ out of all people because I’m great to everybody, I have a great personality and I just cannot understand why everything gets so hard with me out of everybody. Like I said again, I’m just thankful that this whole process is over with, that an organization believed in me and trusted in me.”  He also expressed gratitude to the Redskins for drafting him, stating, “I’m grateful to be a part of this organization.”

Somewhat surprisingly, Guice becomes the first offensive player drafted by the Redskins in the second round of the draft since 2008.  The Redskins have now drafted a running back in 8 straight drafts dating back to 2011.  Guice is the 12th LSU player drafted by the team in its history.

We’ll have much more on Guice and the rest of the Redskins’ draft choices on the next episode of The Hog Sty.

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