Assessing Washington Redskins first-round options: RB Derrius Guice
By Ian Cummings
What Derrius Guice does well
Don’t be fooled by the doubters. Derrius Guice is not a power back. That title doesn’t do him justice.
Guice has all the tools to be an effective two-down back (at least) in the NFL. The successor of recent top five pick Leonard Fournette, Guice is arguably a better running back than the Jaguars’ starter.
At 5-foot-11, 218, Guice offers very good size at the position. He’s big enough to withstand contact, but his mobility hardly suffers as a result. Guice is decisive at the line of scrimmage, using active feet to make sharp cuts. Guice’s burst isn’t the best in the draft, but he’s far from average. He can beat the best athletes with his quickness out of the gate.
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Guice cruises through contact. It isn’t uncommon to see him carrying one to three defenders on his back while gaining extra yards. Guice’s balance is matched by a mere few in this draft class. He has the uncanny ability to stay on his feet and keep the play alive, something Washington Redskins running backs have struggled with in recent years. He has the lateral quickness to keep his opportunities alive, and he has the brute strength to capitalize.
While some may say that Guice leaves plenty to be desired as a pass catcher, this is false. Guice has plenty of ability as a pass catcher out of the backfield. He’s not perfect in this regard, as we’ll explain later on, but he doesn’t have prevalent drop issues, and while running after the catch, he brings all the benefits that his team enjoys when letting him run.
In Guice, any given NFL team would have an energetic runner who can start and thrive on day one. For the Washington Redskins, Guice, a complete back, would provide a perfect compliment to third down back Chris Thompson, and he’d effectively fill the team’s need at a very important position. He doesn’t even turn 21 until June, and for running backs, who usually tick out at around 30 years of age, time is very much a valuable asset.