Background
Despite having a five star label attached to his name, Derrius Guice has had to work for his success. Guice was in Leonard Fournette’s shadow during his first two years in Baton Rouge. Regardless, Guice still produced at a high level.
Guice stepped in for an oft injured Fournette in 2016 and produced 1387 yards on 7.6 yards per carry. Guice was the feature bell cow for LSU in 2017. His production remained excellent. He finished with 1251 yards on 237 carries. He scored 11 rushing touchdowns. As a receiver, Guice had 18 catches, 124 yards, and 2 touchdowns in 2017.
Running style
Guice is going to draw an assortment of comparisons between now and late April. To fully understand Guice, a close examination of his offense needs to be presented. LSU’s 2017 offensive coordinator, Matt Canada, is notorious for pre snap shifts and motions. Their effectiveness is a question.
According to Pro Football Weekly’s Marcus Mosher, Guice on average faced the most defenders in the box. LSU’s passing offense had issues, most notably at the quarterback position. Guice was asked to create more yards before the line of scrimmage due to high number of defenders at the line of scrimmage.
— Billys Clips (@billys_clips) February 17, 2018
The first thing that stands out is his fierce running style. He has a similar “Beast Mode” attitude when he’s on the field. He brings this physical style of running on every snap.
Good luck bringing down Guice on first contact pic.twitter.com/LO14eC2bgF
— Billy Marshall (@BillyM_91) February 17, 2018
Guice does not search for contact, but if he gets hit on first contact it’s likely he won’t come down. He has a strong lower base that keeps his legs moving on contact.
— Billys Clips (@billys_clips) February 17, 2018
Guice’s good work before the line is on full display here. Despite seeing a loaded box and an incoming linebacker, he makes a sharp cut which affords him to find the cutback lane.
— Billys Clips (@billys_clips) February 17, 2018
Guice has excellent feet in short areas. His cutback ability consistently allows him to search for marginal holes. He’s also doing this against a stacked box, which makes it all the more impressive.
— Billys Clips (@billys_clips) February 17, 2018
The other portion that makes up Guice’s brilliance is his work in shotgun. His teammate in 2016, Leonard Fournette, had issues running out of shotgun. The Panthers offense relies on a heavy dosage of shotgun run concepts out of 11 personnel. Guice is able to read the linebacker’s flow. He makes a couple subtle cutbacks, which allow him to find the second level.
— Billys Clips (@billys_clips) February 17, 2018
Guice is a solid runner at the second level too. LSU’s offense goes through a couple motions to confuse the defense. Guice finds a sizable hole to the outside of the left tackle, but he’s able to accelerate quickly to the second level and make a nice move on the safety too.
— Billys Clips (@billys_clips) February 17, 2018
This run doesn’t look like much, but he’s facing an elite defense with difference makers all over the defensive line. The offensive line doesn’t provide much room, but Guice is able to churn out four yards on 1st and 10, which would be considered a successful run. He explodes forward, which gives him a couple more yards.
Passing game
Guice isn’t a prolific route runner, but that’s not his game. He can still excel on screens, throw backs, and play-action flat routes.
— Billys Clips (@billys_clips) February 17, 2018
Guice is lined up in the slot to the top of the field. He runs too high within his route, which causes him to lose positioning on the defender. In addition, he does a poor job of boxing out the defender at the catch point. Again, Guice shouldn’t be asked to line up wide or in the slot many times.
— Billys Clips (@billys_clips) February 17, 2018
However, Guice has shown that once the ball in his hands he can make defenders miss using his cut back ability.
— Billys Clips (@billys_clips) February 17, 2018
The play-action roll outs to Guice were a feature of the LSU offense. It doesn’t require a high level of difficulty from the quarterback or Guice, but once the ball is in his hands he can create on his own.
— Billys Clips (@billys_clips) February 17, 2018
Guice moves so fluidly, but he’s also able to control his speed when he’s in the open field. This allows him to run controlled, but also change gears to make moves or explode through contact.
— Billys Clips (@billys_clips) February 17, 2018
The other part of the passing game where Guice stands out is in pass protection. He is never afraid to make contact to protect his quarterback.
— Billys Clips (@billys_clips) February 17, 2018
His most effective pass block is legally getting low to provide resistance against the blitzing defender.
Awesome pass block by Guice. pic.twitter.com/Ed0nY4njDy
— Billy Marshall (@BillyM_91) February 17, 2018
Grade and fit with Carolina
Guice dealt with a few nagging injuries all season, so his rushing efficiency was lower in 2017 than 2016. He was the bell cow in an offense with a limited passing game. Guice’s game is going to be better suited for an NFL offense because he frequently ran out of 12 and 21 personnel formations. Furthermore, his work in the shotgun makes him an ideal fit in Carolina’s offense as a foundation back. Ideally, him and McCaffrey would become a perfect duo. Guice didn’t run much out of 11 personnel, but McCaffrey did in 2017 and was very successful on those runs.
Games watched
2017 vs Arkansas
2017 vs Alabama
2017 vs Florida
2017 vs Notre Dame
Grading system
- 95+: HOF talent
- 90-94.99: Future All Pro
- 80-89.99: Future Pro Bowler
- 70-79.99: Day one starter
- 60-69.99: Potential year one starter/year two potential starter
- 55-59.99: Potential to make a roster
- 54.99 lower: Training Camp/depth player
My final grade for Guice is 81.38, which amounts to a future pro bowler.
What about you, Panthers fans? Do you think the Panthers should draft Derrius Guice?
Poll
Should the Panthers draft Derrius Guice?
This poll is closed
-
63%
Yes
-
9%
No
-
26%
Maybe