Sam’s Film Room: Derrius Guice can be the Seahawks’ new Marshawn Lynch

In the 2017 NFL Draft, Louisiana State University produced Leonard Fournette who was picked fourth overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars. After that draft, there was a common sentiment among college football fans that the Tigers would be completely fine with Derrius Guice carrying the ball instead. Truth be told, I definitely didn’t believe them at first. How could another running back follow-up the performance of a guy like Fournette? Well, I was pleasantly surprised by the performance of Guice and after watching his skill-set I think he’ll make an excellent NFL running back. What’s interesting is that he still ran for over 1,200 yards this season even while dealing with an ankle injury all year. If an NFL team gets the 2016 version of his play, I can guarantee they will be extremely happy.

From my film study, Guice runs with power and vision to set up his blocks. He does a great job of finishing the play and dragging defenders for extra yards. In my opinion, his violent running style is easily his best trait. In the NFL, Guice will make a great first and second down running back while he proves he can catch the ball out of the backfield and get better at blocking.

For Guice’s pro comparison, he reminds me a lot of Marshawn Lynch. Both were powerful running backs with great vision through the hole. I feel like Lynch was more talented when he came out of college, but I think Guice has enough talent to easily warrant a late first round grade in the upcoming draft.

How this might affect the Seattle Seahawks

Over the past couple of years, the Seahawks have churned through running backs ever since Marshawn Lynch retired and then became an Oakland Raider. I feel like a few running backs have stood out for a game here and there - Thomas Rawls, Chris Carson, and Mike Davis recently - but drafting a talented player like Guice could fix their issues in the backfield. In my opinion, Guice will go near the end of the first round, so there is a chance that Seattle could trade back a few picks in order to draft him while also grabbing an extra pick in the draft. If they don’t take him, Guice has been linked to a number of teams including the Washington Redskins, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Detroit Lions. Don’t be surprised if he goes earlier than the second round pick that most mock drafts are guessing he’ll be selected.

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