After trading with the San Francisco 49ers to move back in the second round, the Washington Redskins used the No. 59 overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft on running back Derrius Guice of Louisiana State University on Friday night.
The Redskins traded their No. 44 pick and a fifth-round pick to the Niners in exchange for the No. 59 pick (the 27th pick of round two) and one of San Francisco’s third-round picks, No. 74 overall.
Guice fell in the second round after some analysts pegged him as the class’s second best running back behind Saquon Barkley and a possible first-rounder. Instead, he was the seventh player chosen at the position.
Guice ran for 2,638 yards and 26 rushing touchdowns across 2016 and 2017 for LSU, and has drawn comparisons to Marshawn Lynch.
But character questions surrounded Guice. The prospect said in a radio interview after the scouting combine that a team or teams asked him about his sexuality and whether his mother ever worked as a prostitute. But earlier this week, the NFL released the results of its investigation and said that no team had in fact asked Guice those questions.
Guice’s brother, Derrick Guice, was also charged with murder in 2017.
Redskins coach Jay Gruden and senior vice president of player personnel Doug Williams indicated throughout the spring that they would look at drafting a running back in an early round.
With the trade with San Francisco, the Redskins recouped a third-round pick after sending Kansas City their original third-rounder in the Alex Smith trade. Washington will be on the clock again with the 10th pick of round three.
After that, the team has a fourth-round selection, a fifth-rounder, a sixth-rounder and two sevenths on Saturday afternoon.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.