Derrius Guice Fantasy: Start or Sit the Redskins RB for Week 1?

Derrius Guice was a popular fantasy football pick in the middle to late rounds of drafts. Given we have yet to see Guice play an NFL game, many fans are wondering whether to start or sit the Redskins running back for Week 1 against the Eagles.

The short answer is you can put Guice in your lineup with confidence, but the specifics depend on who else is on your roster. My expectations for Guice this week is in the RB2 range with a bit of upside. Guice does have a challenging matchup against the Eagles, but the Redskins do not have a lot of other options on offense. This means Guice is due for plenty of work, and Redskins head coach confirmed that the former LSU running back would be the starter.

“Gruden plans to start [Derrius] Guice at RB but hasn’t decided whether to dress two more or three more backs. Could need the third back to play teams. Won’t say if Adrian Peterson is the odd man out yet. Still trying to decide,” USA Today’s Mike Jones tweeted.

Derrius Guice Is a Fantasy RB2 in Week 1 Against the Eagles

The Eagles defense is a less than ideal opening game, but Guice’s expected workload should make up for the difficult matchup. While we may not know much about Guice in the NFL, he was a standout running back at LSU. Guice had back-to-back 1,200-plus rushing yards seasons after Leonard Fournette left for the NFL. Guice’s best season came his sophomore year when he rushed for 1,387 yards and 15 touchdowns while averaging 7.6 yards per carry.

Washington is so confident in Guice that Adrian Peterson may be a healthy scratch judging by Redskins coach Jay Gruden’s comments. Peterson received the majority of the carries in 2018 with Guice sidelined. During the preseason, Gruden noted that the offensive carries will mostly go through Guice.

As we saw with the Bears, what the coaches say during the offseason does not always play out during games. That said, all indications are Guice is going to be the lead back with the Redskins and receive a good deal of touches.

Washington Head Coach Jay Gruden Implied Guice Would Get the “Mother Load” of the Carries

Leading up to the Eagles game, Gruden implied that it would be Guice who would receive the “mother load” of the carries. If true, it would be music to fantasy owners ears.

“The big thing is we get somebody ready for the mother load and everybody else is ready for whatever else they can get,” Gruden explained to NBC Sports. “…[Guice] was our second-round pick. Had he not got hurt, we wouldn’t know Adrian. Fortunately, we got to know Adrian and he’s a great player for us. The issue is you’ve got one ball and if you’re going to hand the ball off 25 times a game, only so many carries can go around.”

If you are looking for an RB2 or flex play for Week 1, Guice is a start in your fantasy lineup. As always, feel free to reach out on Twitter @JonDAdams with your fantasy football-related questions.

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