Running back Derrius Guice slid to pick No. 59 for a variety of reasons. One specific problem arose from Guice’s team visits, which as Ian Rapoport of NFL Media said earlier in the hour on NFLN did not always go well.
As to the altercation that supposed happened during a visit with the Eagles, Rapoport reports that there was a “shouting match,” and that one unnamed source called it the worst meeting that team ever had with a player. (Oddly, Mike Mayock’s final mock draft had Guice going to the Eagles at No. 32; Mayock handles the in-booth analysis for Philly’s preseason games.)
Chatter continues regarding other incidents and rumors involving Guice, to the point where Washington is currently looking into some of the scuttlebutt. Some would say they should have done that before they put his name on the card. (Others would say, “What else do you expect from this specific franchise?”)
Here’s a prediction that one source shared with PFT prior to the draft. (I stay away from posting opinions from anonymous sources before the draft because of the very real incentive teams have to trash guys they secretly hope to draft at a lower spot. Now that Guice has been picked, that concern doesn’t apply.) Per the source, an executive from a team that had multiple chances to draft Guice and didn’t, it’s expected that unless he matures quickly Guice will have a couple of years of solid production before he wears out his welcome and ends up cut or traded.
Guice has the power to change that, and maybe his unexpected slide to No. 59 will be the catalyst. Multiple sources have told PFT that, as to his claim that he was asked during the Scouting Combine whether he likes men, Guice told conflicting stories to NFL investigators, preventing them from concluding that the question had been asked.
During a pre-draft visit to PFT Live, I pressed Guice on the question of whether it was a miscommunication, a misunderstanding, or something else. Guice chose to avoid the topic, other than to acknowledge that he had been interviewed three times by NFL Security.
Based on everything that has emerged regarding Guice, Washington’s relationship with Guice may involve more than a few sit-downs and heart-to-hearts in the coming weeks and months. Maybe the switch will flip; maybe he’ll mature.
If he does, Guice could have a long and fruitful career in the NFL. If he doesn’t, he’ll be one of the guys who inevitably is replaced by another draft pick in two or three years.