Early NFL Draft Scouting: Elijah McGuire, RB, Louisiana-Lafayette
Heading into his junior season, Louisiana-Lafayette running back Elijah McGuire has made a heck of an impression and could be in line for a jump to the NFL after this year.
At 5-foot-11, 198 pounds, he’s got decent size for a running back, though he’s not going to be blowing anyone away with his bulk, but that’s not really his game. The name of the game for McGuire is big play speed, and he makes plenty of them.
Let’s all have a look at some of this guy’s highlights, and what he brings to the table. Keep in mind that highlights only tell a piece of the story, but the numbers back it up — this guy can flat out ball.
Here’s a game of his against Texas State. All I can say is, ‘wow.’
Observations
- One of the first things that really jumps out about McGuire is the fact that he’s an awesome receiver and route runner as a running back. You don’t see, even with some of those phenomenal athletes at the collegiate level, backs running routes like we see McGuire doing in that highlight reel and on that game tape. His speed makes him a great mismatch in the passing game, and they exploited that well.
- He is a straight up football player. When you have a great football player on your team, at any level, you do what you can to get him involved in different phases of the game. In these two tapes, you see McGuire running the ball well, catching passes, returning punts — a little of everything. And he looks so natural doing it. That indicates to me that this is a guy who’s not just a fast kid who has been trained up as a running back. He’s the best player on the field at all times and you need to get the ball in his hands.
- If you do nothing else, go to the 3:00 mark of the Texas State game, and watch McGuire run to the sideline, where his blocking breaks down, and he stops on a dime, makes the defender miss, keeps is balance, and explodes upfield for a touchdown. My jaw is still on the ground.
- Explosiveness upfield is noticeable. There are plenty of plays where he’s bottled up at the line, but you keep feeding him because eventually, he’s going to break one loose.
Overall
Really, really excited to watch this guy play in 2015. He’s got the speed, explosiveness, instincts, and overall football savvy to be an NFL player sooner rather than later, and I think he’s going to be in line for a huge season.