The Washington Redskins ended running back Derrius Guice's draft free fall.
Guice is a first-round talent who slid to the second-round due to off-field concerns.
On the field, Guice doesn't shy away from contact as a north-south runner, can bulldoze defensive backs and outrun linebackers in space. While he wasn't used much in the passing game, the rookie back possesses enough skills to thrive in all phases.
Aside from injuries, Guice has the talent to be a workhorse right off the bat in Washington. It's that reputation that left him surprised over having to wait so long to hear his name called.
The LSU product slid in the draft due to non-football related issues. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported that sources describe Guice as "immature" and "high maintenance," noting some of his visits with teams did not go well. Rapoport added there were incidents in college that teams found out about that were not previously reported.
"It did surprise me because a lot of the 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," Guice said on a conference call, per The Associated Press. "I have a great personality and I just didn't understand why everything just hit so hard with me out of everybody. I'm just thankful to know that this whole process is over with, that an organization believed in me and trusted in me and I'm just ready to get to work."
The Redskins apparently did enough homework on Guice to feel comfortable using a second-round pick on the first-round talent.
Guice could be the early-down workhorse Washington has lacked the past few seasons. If the rookie can carry the workload between the tackles, that could lessen the load on dynamic satellite back Chris Thompson. Guice has the talent to beat out Rob Kelley and 2017 fourth-round pick Samaje Perine. It's now on the Redskins coaching staff to see Guice lives up to that talent.
