Why the Slide?: Derrius Guice, RB, LSU
By Charlie Campbell, @draftcampbell
Four years ago, we started a series of articles on why certain prospects went undrafted. In that series, I reach out to sources with NFL teams to find out why their organizations passed on drafting a given player, and/or, what were the reasons for other teams to pass on that prospect. We got a lot of positive reader feedback about the series, so we decided to expand in the genre to investigate why some prospects slid in the draft. Three years ago, we started the Why the Slide? series, and this year it is back. Feel free to email me requests for Why the Slide? and Why Undrafted? at [email protected]. I can’t promise to get to all of them, but I will do my best and definitely will respond to the email.
During the leadup to the 2018 NFL Draft, Derrius Guice was a consensus late first-round or early second-round pick. The 5-foot-10, 224-pounder was coming off two productive seasons at LSU in which he showed an impressive skill set with natural running ability. Many around the NFL thought the tough runner was worthy of going in the first round, but team needs and where teams value running backs might lead to him going early in the second round.
Late in the draft process, however, Guice slipped because of some off-the-field issues. He stated in an interview that he was asked some inappropriate questions about his sexuality during team interviews. A league investigation could not find evidence of that happening, and some team sources said they think Guice misunderstood the question and was speaking broadly about hearing of those kind of questions being asked in prospect interviews. Following that, Guice had some rough interviews with teams, and it was reported that he had a shouting match with Eagles coach Duce Staley while visiting Philadelphia. Then in the 2018 NFL Draft, Guice slipped out of the first round and fell to late in the second round with lesser running back prospects going off the board ahead of him. Surprisingly, Guice lasted all the way until pick No. 59.
Sources say the reason that Guice slid was the concerns about his personal makeup. Teams were wary of him potentially being dishonest about his pre-draft interview questions and how he handled that situation. That led to him sliding much lower than his talent level suggested. However, team sources say that Guice had a tough upbringing and was not a bad guy at LSU. He wasn’t a player who dealt with suspensions or arrests or anything like that. Thus, sources from a variety of teams feel that the makeup concerns about Guice were misguided and that he was punished for something that is rather irrelevant.
The Washington Redskins traded down in the second round and were still able to land Guice. It was highway robbery for the Washington brain trust of team President Bruce Allen, Senior Vice President of Player Personnel Doug Williams, and Director of College Scouting Kyle Smith. As soon as Guice has the playbook down and is assignment sound in blitz protection, he should be the lead back for the Redskins’ offense as neither Rob Kelley or Samaje Perine is the caliber of back who Guice is. Chris Thompson also is just a backup rotational back. Many rookie running backs struggle with the playbook, and that can limit how much they play even though they can be more physically talented than the veterans playing ahead of them. Coaches have to be able to trust backs to execute plays, but if Guice is a quick learner and/or studies hard on his playbook, he should be the starting running back for Washington.
Once he’s the feature back, I think Guice is going to take off. The Redskins have a good offensive line that should be effective at opening holes for him. Washington also has strong leadership for Guice in its locker room with established veterans, and the coaching staff, along with Williams and Allen have had success working with players with tough backgrounds. The Redskins were a great landing spot for Guice, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Guice becomes a Pro Bowl running back for Washington early in his pro career.
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