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Former LSU running back Derrius Guice had to wait a good bit to wait for his name to be called in the 2018 NFL draft. He was selected at No. 59 overall to Washington, after falling quite a bit.
It was pretty surprising, since he was projected to go in the first round or early in the second.
As far as why dropped, Mike Mayock of the NFL Network reported the following last week:
Officials from six teams who have researched and spent time with Guice say there are concerns about immaturity, how he handles his emotions and how well he’ll adapt, conform and fit into an NFL program.
As one NFC executive put it: “He’s a high-maintenance kid.” An executive with another team that has done a lot of work on Guice made clear “he’s not a bad kid at heart, at all,” but will need structure and mentorship to help him grow up and learn how to be a pro.
”There’s a lot of personality stuff there that I’ll be interested to see if somebody takes a shot on him in the first round,” an AFC scout said.
He added this on NFL Network on Friday:
“He had several issues getting to different buildings and meeting with teams,” Mayock said via Pro Football Talk. He missed some flights. They didn’t like his attitude. The NFL investigated and cleared him. He fired his agent. It was a tumultuous offseason for this young man. He did not put his best foot forward. Now today I’ve had several text messages from general managers telling me there’s another investigation out there that could be potentially highly embarrassing to the kid and maybe to the team that selects him. That’s why he’s sliding now.”
And ESPN’s broadcast the same night, Todd McShay added on-air that there were some accountability concerns from teams, based on Guice being late to meetings during the pre-draft process.
There were rumors that TMZ had a story on Guice, too.
The outlet subsequently denied these claims:
Getting some word the TMZ may have an unflattering story about Guice that could be published soon which may have something to do with teams steering clear
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) April 27, 2018
NO, TMZ IS NOT HOLDING SOME CRAZY BOMBSHELL STORY ON DERRIUS GUICE.
— evan rosenblum (@EvanTMZ) April 27, 2018
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport added the following:
Per @RapSheet on Derrius Guice just now: “He was described as ‘high maintenance’ and ‘immature’” and had off-field incidents at LSU that went unreported.
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) April 28, 2018
Guice’s draft process wasn’t exactly seamless.
He changed agents before the draft.
On Thursday before round one, the NFL said there was no evidence of a claim that he’d been asked during the Combine about whether he liked men:
The full NFL statement, via spokesperson Brian McCarthy:
Following reports concerning the interviews of Derrius Guice at the Scouting Combine, the League conducted a thorough investigation which included a formal review and report from every club that interviewed Mr. Guice during the Combine, as well as discussions with Mr. Guice, his agent and others. The investigation did not confirm that any club made the reported inquiries. Nonetheless, we used this opportunity to reaffirm our workplace standards and emphasize the importance of fully complying with all requirements of federal and state law. The NFL and each of its member clubs remain fully committed to fair and non-discriminatory employment practices.
After he was picked, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Guice saying he was asked these questions is what caused him to slide:
“Essentially, we go back to the combine, where Derrius Guice said in a radio interview on Sirius XM that basically had been asked if he liked men,” Schefter said on ESPN. “He had been asked about his mother’s work habits, essentially the NFL launched an investigation, where it questioned many teams, and of the teams that Derrius Guice met with, none of them believed his version of the events. The NFL launched an investigation and found that no evidence of any wrongdoing had occurred, no team had asked a question, and in fact Derrius Guice even admitted to the teams, at least one of the teams that he had not been asked that question. There were other issues with Derrius Guice, and one team compared him to Dalvin Cook in the draft last year where Dalvin Cook had first-round talent, but fell into the second round where the Minnesota Vikings took him and he became a huge rookie bargain.”
This question has, in fact, been asked before — two years ago, prospect Eli Apple said publicly he had been asked by a coach with the Atlanta Falcons if he “liked men.” That claim was later substantiated.
More had come out since he was selected. On Saturday, Rapoport reported that there was an “incident” during his visit with the Philadelphia Eagles:
Along with @TomPelissero, we discuss the fall of new #Redskins RB Derrius Guice and how he landed where he did. pic.twitter.com/ezAwotvmit
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 28, 2018
Guice has spoken about his fall since getting drafted.
“It did surprise me because a lot of the things came out of nowhere and weren’t true,” Guice said via ESPN.com. “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.”
”This team picked me the way that I am, and I really appreciate them for trusting me and giving me the opportunity. You are who you are. You can’t change who you are for anyone. And I wouldn’t change anything.” More from Derrius Guice (and Da’Ron Payne) with me on @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/28loqSQdvZ
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 28, 2018
Penn State’s Saquon Barkley, San Diego State’s Rashaad Penny, Georgia’s Sony Michel and Nick Chubb, and Auburn’s Kerryon Johnson all went off the board before Guice.
We’ll update this story if it continues to develop.