See Gap Hit Gap
Guice likely won’t be used as part of a zone blocking scheme in the NFL, but even so, it will be important for him to be able to read blocks and defenses in order to be consistently effective; on tape at LSU, he is somewhat of a mixed bag, on some plays showing the ability to navigate blocks:
And on others, seeming a little overeager to get downfield, ending up missing the gap as a result:
Running back vision is always going to be somewhat of a woolly concept, as it is as much about the payoff between risk and reward as anything else. While the above plays, and Guice’s tape in general, give a somewhat inconclusive picture of his vision, something that definitely works in his favor is how he showed an ability to use blockers on the second level to extend runs; on both of the following plays, he uses a nice hesitation step to move the defender so that the blocking can create a clear seam:
This doesn’t necessarily speak to his ability to read defenses, but shows an understanding of how to use blocks in order to create running room that bodes well for his development in this area; what it also flashes is his ability to change direction in order to make defenders miss in the hole. While he’s not quite Barry Sanders, Guice does show a good ability to make the first man miss while maintaining enough speed to continue upfield effectively:
This again allows him to turn decent gains into long gains on a reasonably consistent basis. The next step after this is the deep speed to turn those fifteen yard gains into touchdowns; while he was still able to break off long gains in 2017, one thing that he did seem to lack was the ability to take runs to the house in the way he had done in 2016:
If all a team gets is the 2017 version of Guice, they will still walk away with a player who shows enough vision to be effective as a downhill rusher with the ability to bounce off of tacklers and make the first man miss. In the open space, he shows an ability to navigate traffic and enough speed to break off long plays. That alone is worth a lot, even if they don’t ever get the 2016 Guice.
Up Next: But What If They Do Get the 2016 Guice?
