Oakland Raiders 2018 NFL Draft: 5 skill position players to target in first round

We know that one running back is certainly going in the top 10 in the 2018 NFL Draft. And we’ll get to him in a bit. However, is there another collegiate tailback worth taking in the first round? Perhaps the best candidate for that lofty of a selection might be the LSU Tigers’ Derrius Guice.

Guice was a highly productive player in three years in Baton Rouge. He rushed for 3,074 yards on 471 carries for 29 touchdowns. While his pass-catching numbers aren’t all that gaudy, do keep in mind that LSU had virtually no clue how to move the sticks aerially during Guice’s time in the SEC. He will be able to catch passes out of the backfield at the next level no doubt.

Guice is 5-foot-11, 218 pounds. His frame and workload will allow him to be a bell-cow back at the next level. While he played in the same backfield with Leonard Fournette in his first two years with LSU, he clearly showed that he can be more than a second-tier running back to a blue-chip prospect like his former team. Fournette was a more punishing runner, but Guice was honestly a more productive player in Baton Rouge for the Bayou Bengals.

It’s hard to see Guice coming off the board earlier than maybe No. 12. Oakland would have to trade back to select him, but he could be a solid pick for a near playoff team picking in the late teens to mid-20s. An ideal trade partner for the Raiders to move back and get Guice would be the Buffalo Bills, who have two first-round picks in the early 20s. They need a quarterback badly anyway.