The Philadelphia Eagles are showing a LOT of pre-draft interest in LSU running back Derrius Guice.
It’s already been reported that Guice has a pre-draft visit scheduled with the Eagles. It’s also been reported that Eagles assistant head coach/running backs coach Duce Staley “is a big supporter of Guice.”
If that’s not convincing enough, NDT Scouting’s Jon Ledyard told BGN Radio that Howie Roseman has a first-round grade on Guice. Now Ledyard is also reporting the Eagles are set to privately meet with Guice in Louisana and put him through a private workout.
The #Eagles are heading down to LSU to meet with Derrius Guice tonight, then will put him through a private workout in the morning tomorrow. Then they will host Guice on a visit in Philadelphia on Monday-Tuesday of next week. Lot of interest there.
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) April 12, 2018
This situation reminds me a lot of the Eagles’ pre-draft interest in Dalvin Cook last year. They were really doing a lot of homework on him. Philadelphia passed on Cook at No. 14 in the 2017 NFL Draft but they reportedly wanted to trade up in the second round to get him. They ultimately missed out, though, when the Minnesota Vikings beat them to the punch.
The Eagles are obviously in a different situation this year. They’re picking at No. 32 (since they won the Super Bowl) instead of No. 14. This is probably a more comfortable range for them when it comes to selecting a running back.
I don’t think the Eagles will be passing on Guice if he makes to No. 32. It depends who else is left on the board, of course, and there’s a real chance Guice doesn’t even make it there. But it doesn’t seem impossible given all these mock scenarios where it DOES happen. Mel Kiper has the Eagles taking Guice in his latest ESPN mock, for example.
Some might say running back isn’t a big need for the Eagles but that’s not necessarily true. The worst kept secret is that Jay Ajayi likely won’t be back after the 2018 season. Are the Eagles, who will be tight on cap space once again, really going to give a big extension to a running back with team-acknowledged injury issues? Probably not. That leaves Corey Clement as the only “sure thing” when it comes to the long-term outlook at running back. And while Clement showed nice potential as a rookie, it’s not like he was so good that the Eagles shouldn’t even try to upgrade at the position.
Adding Guice to the Eagles would make Doug Pederson’s offense even more dangerous in 2018. It’d be nice for the team to have a strong run game to rely on with Carson Wentz working his way back from injury.
For more on Guice, read Michael Kist’s detailed scouting report on him.