Heading into the 2018 NFL Draft, former LSU running back Derrius Guice was projected to be one of the top running backs taken at his position. In fact, there was chatter that he could be selected in the first round given what he brings to the table in the running game.
However, Guice saw himself fall all the way down to the 59th overall pick to the Washington Redskins, possibly due to a rumored altercation during his visit with the Philadelphia Eagles. According to ESPN, Guice stated during his conference call after being drafted that he didn't understand why he fell due to allegations that had no truth to them.
“It did surprise me because a lot of the things came out of nowhere and weren't true,” Guice said on a conference call. “I just didn't understand why me, out of all people, because I'm great to everybody. I have a great personality, and I just didn't understand why everything just hit so hard with me out of everybody.”
All of this sprouted from a reported altercation that he had with some members of the Eagles during a meeting. This had a major impact on his future outlook as teams passed on him with players such as USC's Ronald Jones, Georgia's Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, and Auburn's Kerryon Johnson.
During the entire pre-draft process, Guice was widely viewed as being the second-best prospect at his position behind former Penn State running back Saquon Barkley in this year's class that was a shoo-in to be a late first-round pick based solely on his talent. He had demonstrated the ability to have an explosive running style with the strength to be a bruising runner at the next level that has received some comparison to Oakland Raiders former Pro Bowl running back Marshawn Lynch.
Nonetheless, Guice will have the opportunity to grab a significant role with Washington where he could compete with Samaje Perine for the starting job. This drop in the draft could be used to help further motivate him to put together a productive NFL career.
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