Bleacher Report thinks this Commanders RB was worst recent draft pick

It’s crazy to think about, but the Washington Commanders have found more success drafting in the middle rounds than the first and second.

In fact, the franchise ranks fourth in the NFL in terms of value attained on Day 3 of the draft since 2012, according to an ESPN study. With Kirk Cousins, Chase Roullier, Alfred Morris, Jameson Crowder, Bashaud Breeland, Kam Curl, Cole Holcomb and Tim Settle all taken between Rounds 4-7, it’s not all that surprising.

That’s not to say the first three rounds have been utter failures. Between Jonathan Allen, Brandon Scherff, Terry McLaurin, Daron Payne, Jordan Reed, Kendall Fuller and Morgan Moses, the Commanders have done better than what’s led on.

On the flip side, though, they have enough early-round misses for it to be a conversation. For every Scherff, there’s a first-round dud in Jahan Dotson. For every third-round gem in McLaurin, there’s a whiff like Matt Jones.

But who qualifies as Washington’s worst draft pick dating back to 2017? If you asked Bleacher Report, they’d give Derrius Guice that title.

Bleacher Report thinks Derrius Guice was the Commanders’ worst draft pick of the last five years.

Bleacher Report analyst Maurice Moton had a number of candidates to sift through, but Guice, the team’s second-round pick (No. 59 overall) in 2018, takes the cake here. Speaking strictly in terms of RBs, you could make a case for Bryce Love, Washington’s fourth-round pick in 2019 who never played a snap in the NFL.

Guice is a worthy winner, however.

The former LSU standout was given the chance to start as a rookie, but he tore his ACL in Washington’s first preseason game. That ended Guice’s season and the team signed then free agent Adrian Peterson as his replacement days later.

Guice’s injury woes only worsened from there. As Moton noted, Guice suffered a hamstring setback during his rehab. Amid a sluggish season-opening performance agaisnt the Eagles in 2019, Guice went down with a meniscus injury.

After returning down the road to play four straight games, the former second-rounder landed on injured reserve again, this time with a sprained MCL. Guice, who’s eyeing an NFL comeback, hasn’t played in a game since.

As we all know, though, Guice’s off-field history is far more troubling than his inability to stay healthy and is ultimately what led to his release.

In August of 2020, Guice was arrested on domestic violence charges, including three counts of assault and battery and one count of felony strangulation. According to court documents, Guice pushed his ex-girlfriend to the ground three times.

After that story broke, two women accused Guice of rape and a third alleged he took a partially nude photo of her and shared it around LSU’s locker room.

Just months later, a 74-year-old woman accused Guice of sexual harassment and he was subsequently banned from LSU’s athletics program after the school itself came under fire for it’s handling of sexual assault allegations.

When you couple his injury history, lackluster production as a running back and disturbing off-field allegations, it’s hard to imagine Guice playing in the NFL again.

While the Commanders have made “worse” picks than the LSU product, the manner in which Guice’s career came off the rails makes him a no-brainer choice for the team’s worst draft pick of the last five years.

What do you think, Commanders fans? Would Guice be your pick?