Too Much Interest?

Posted: April 12th, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on Too Much Interest?

The Eagles seem to like Derrius Guice.

Back in mid-March, Tony Pauline had this to say.

After working out for the Tampa Bay Bucs yesterday, LSU running back Derrius Guice will be meeting the Indianapolis Colts in Baton Rouge before jetting off to see the Philadelphia Eagles for an official visit. I’m told Eagles running backs coach Duce Staley is a big supporter of Guice.

Is all of this legit?

It very well could be. Guice is a terrific RB. In most years, he would be the top RB in the class. Heck, some might even like him more than Saquon Barkley. We don’t know if Guice will be drafted in the Top 20 or if he’ll go in the 20’s or if he’ll somehow be on the board at 32.

It is possible the Eagles are checking on Guice so thoroughly because they are trying to figure out if they should trade up for him. I doubt that is the case, but you can’t entirely dismiss the idea if they love Guice and think they’d be lucky to get him in the 20’s.

The Eagles don’t generally broadcast their intentions. They work out a lot of guys and do a lot of visits, but this much info getting out would be somewhat of a surprise. It could be that this is Guice’s agent, trying to use the Eagles. They obviously have interest, but the agent could be leaking info on the Eagles for a reason. You know he wants Guice to go in the 1st round. If teams in the early 2nd think the Eagles like Guice, they would know they must move back into the 1st to get him.

I know this is all crazy.

Let’s talk about Guice for a minute.

He has good size at 5-10, 224. He ran 4.49 at the Combine. That’s a terrific combination of size and speed. The thing that impresses me the most is his balance. Guice can take a hit and just keeps on trucking. He makes cuts, but stays strong because he keeps his feet under him. He’s not going to make dynamic Shady McCoy cuts, but runs with better power.

Guice runs with functional power. He breaks tackles and uses his legs to drive forward after making contact. He’s not going to overwhelm tacklers like LeGarrette Blount did, but that’s actually a good thing. Guice focuses on getting more yards.

The two things I focus on with RBs are vision and footwork. Guice is good in both areas. He shows potential as a receiver and is solid in pass pro.

I would love to have him on the Eagles. The only issue is taking a RB at 32.

*****

The Eagles could benefit from this terrible situation. The Niners were thin at LB already. With Foster’s future in doubt, maybe they would be willing to deal for Mychal Kendricks. Foster played MLB and Kendricks is better suited at WLB, but the Niners might want a proven veteran to add to the mix. With most teams playing a lot of Nickel these days, things get a bit blurred in terms of position.

Dealing Kendricks would save the Eagles several million dollars (cap space) and would add a late round pick for the draft.

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