Washington Redskins Select Derrius Guice in the 2nd Round - Tyler’s Take

Oh my word! Oh what a night!

Let me just say what a roller coaster this has been. We go from passing Guice over in the second because we traded back with the 49ers, to watching and waiting while teams in front of us passed on him as well. Then, when we are on the clock with the 27th pick in the second and Guice is still sitting there, we finally pull the trigger. Plus, we get a third round pick from San Francisco!

Derrius Guice to the Redskins is an absolute home run pick! This kid offers us everything we have been lacking in a true 3-down running back since Clinton Portis first came to D.C. via trade.

Yes, Derrius can do it all!

Guice was the second running back on my board, landing behind only Saquon Barkley. He was my ninth overall prospect for the Redskins in this entire draft. I thought he was good enough to be considered with the 13th overall pick which you can read about here. Getting him where we did in the second was a steal!

Guice runs angry. He’s the most volatile runner in this draft. He runs carrying a chip on his shoulder. His life is full of experiences, both good and bad, that drive him to be great. But he’s not just a battering ram between the tackles. He has home run speed, which was very evident when you watched any of his 2016 game tape (and I watched a ton of it). If given a crease, he can make defenses immediately pay.

Besides the intangibles, Guice is vastly underrated as a receiver out of the backfield. He’s not as accomplished as Barkley, but he’s not too far behind either. He has the ability to take a screen or swing to the house, but he can also split out and cause a mismatch for most linebackers and safeties.

As a blocker, Guice needs a bit of work (as most young running backs do), but he’s very willing to stick his head in there and knock a blitzing linebacker off his feet. Once he learns a more complex protection scheme, and understands responsibilities and angles, I feel he can become one of the better pass protecting backs in the league.

Running back was one of the Redskins biggest needs heading into the 2018 offseason, and they absolutely nailed this pick with Guice in the second. It may turn out to be the steal of the entire draft! He will be a perfect fit with Alex Smith in this offense.

In Guice we Trust! HTTR!