Mike Mayock revealed his first and only mock draft on the eve of the 2018 NFL Draft. Here’s a look at who the Philadelphia native has the Eagles taking with the No. 32 overall pick.
The Philadelphia Eagles at 32, Derrius Guice.
Boy, I’ll tell you what. 5-10 and a half, 224 [pounds], runs a sub 4.5 40 [yard dash], he is a north-south slasher and a tough guy. He finishes runs. He’s had some off the field issues. The reason I love this pick? Running back coach Duce Staley in Philadelphia, who I know well, will get this kid straight.
One thing to keep in mind about Mayock is that his mock drafts have graded out well in terms of accuracy. He obviously has strong connections to the Eagles since he’s a Philly native and serves as the Birds’ preseason color analyst.
Mike Mayock has the No. 1 Mock Draft accuracy score of any big media member over the last half decade. You can disagree with his player takes but when he talks about *where* guys are going to go, it's worth listening.
— Evan Silva (@evansilva) April 20, 2018
Mayock’s specific note about Staley is interesting. We’ve already heard that Staley is “a big supporter of Guice.”
We’ve also heard that Howie Roseman has a first-round grade on the LSU running back. And while we don’t know if that’s truly the case, we do know the Eagles have show a ton of pre-draft interest in Guice. They brought him to Philly, they met with him privately in Louisiana, and they worked him out as well.
Another thing worth considering is what Eric Galko recently had to say about the Eagles’ plans at No. 32.
The Eagles would like to trade out of the 32nd overall pick. They like Kolton Miller, but he won’t be available. They will consider running backs Derrius Guice and Sony Michel but would rather move back into Round 2 in order to take them.
One would think the Eagles will just take Guice at No. 32 if they are truly heads over heels about him. But perhaps Philly senses they can still get him in a trade down early into the second round.
The problem there is that’s risky. Last year, the Eagles failed to land Dalvin Cook when the Vikings got aggressive and traded up ahead of them. In his pre-draft press conference this year, Roseman even admitted the Eagles missed out on adding a desired rusher in the 2017 NFL Draft.
“When we got together after the draft last year, the running back class that we thought was really strong going in, we thought that maybe there would be an opportunity that we’d get one of those running backs. Maybe a different guy than Pump.”
The Eagles could really afford to trade back and add some extra picks. But they also don’t want to make the same mistake they did last year. It’ll be interesting to see how they handle this situation and where Guice ultimately ends up.
In the meantime, here’s BGN’s Michael Kist explaining why the Eagles should draft Guice.
Despite playing through injuries in 2017, Guice recorded his third game with 250+ rushing yards, the only SEC back to do so and putting him above Bo Jackson and Herschel Walker for the record. Simply put, Guice is a highly productive bell-cow back that will force the Eagles to reconsider their committee approach. He’s a slam dunk at 32nd overall.
And here’s Mayock’s complete list of 32 picks for the first round. Note that Sony Michel goes off the board before Guice here.
1. Cleveland Browns – Sam Darnold, QB (USC)
2. New York Giants – Saquon Barkley, RB (Penn State)
3. New York Jets – Baker Mayfield, QB (Oklahoma)
4. Cleveland Browns – Bradley Chubb, DE (N.C. State)
5. Denver Broncos – Quenton Nelson, G (Notre Dame)
6. Buffalo Bills (trade with Indianapolis Colts) – Josh Allen, QB (Wyoming)
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Derwin James, S (Florida State)
8. Chicago Bears – Roquan Smith, LB (Georgia)
9. San Francisco 49ers – Denzel Ward, CB (Ohio State)
10. Oakland Raiders – Mike McGlinchey, OT (Notre Dame)
11. Miami Dolphins – Tremaine Edmunds, LB (Virginia Tech)
12. Indianapolis Colts (trade with Buffalo Bills) – Minkah Fitzpatrick, S (Alabama)
13. Washington Redskins – Vita Vea, DT (Washington)
14. Green Bay Packers – Jaire Alexander, CB (Louisville)
15. Arizona Cardinals – Josh Rosen, QB (UCLA)
16. Baltimore Ravens – Lamar Jackson, QB (Louisville)
17. Los Angeles Chargers – Da’Ron Payne, DT (Alabama)
18. Seattle Seahawks – Marcus Davenport, DE (UTSA)
19. Dallas Cowboys – Courtland Sutton, WR (SMU)
20. Detroit Lions – Harold Landry, DE (Boston College)
21. Cincinnati Bengals – Frank Ragnow, C (Arkansas)
22. Indianapolis Colts (trade with Buffalo Bills) – Isaiah Wynn, OT (Georgia)
23. New England Patriots – Kolton Miller, OT (UCLA)
24. Carolina Panthers – Calvin Ridley, WR (Alabama)
25. Tennessee Titans – Rashaan Evans, LB (Alabama)
26. Atlanta Falcons – Taven Bryan, DT (Florida)
27. New Orleans Saints – DJ Moore, WR (Maryland)
28. Pittsburgh Steelers – Sony Michel, RB (Georgia)
29. Jacksonville Jaguars – Hayden Hurst, TE (South Carolina)
30. Minnesota Vikings – Will Hernandez, G (UTEP)
31. New England Patriots – James Daniels, C (Iowa)
32. Philadelphia Eagles – Derrius Guice, RB (LSU)
The Eagles should draft Derrius Guice — @MichaelKistNFL makes the case: https://t.co/68Flvtt26T pic.twitter.com/FR8gOcqIqn
— BleedingGreenNation (@BleedingGreen) April 25, 2018