Rookie Profile: Elijah McGuire, RB Louisiana-Lafayette

Bruce Matson Posted On April 7, 2017

The draft is a process and we have different events on the calendar that we need to check off before we can develop our final evaluations on most of these prospects. The Senior Bowl, combine and pro days are all events that can sway a person’s opinion over a player. Some players experience a volatile shift in their stock during the entire draft process, while others stay under the radar while receiving little recognition for their achievements.

Elijah McGuire, from Louisiana-Lafayette, is a talented prospect who is coasting under the radar and is hiding in the shadows of this talented running back class. DLF currently has him ranked 14th amongst rookie running backs and 33rd in their overall rookie rankings. He’s either being overlooked or he is not that great of a prospect and doesn’t deserve to be touted amongst some of the top running backs in this draft. From now and until it’s time for our rookie drafts, we must figure out whether he is worth selecting for our dynasty teams.

McGuire was a three-star prospect from Vandebilt Catholic High School which is located in Houma, Louisiana where he led the state in rushing with 2,603 yards while averaging 11.8 yards per carry. Per 247Sports, he was ranked 24th amongst running backs and 16th out of the entire state of Louisiana in the 2013 recruiting class. Even though he was recruited by Louisiana Tech, LSU, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss, the only school to send him an official offer was Louisiana-Lafayette.

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Statistics from Sports-Reference.com

He was a regular in the backfield from the get-go, rushing for 863 yards and eight touchdowns while leading the nation with an 8.4 yards per carry average. His best game came during week 11 against Georgia State when he became the first player in school history to rush for over 100 yards and receive over 100 yards in a single game, by rushing for 107 yards and catching three receptions for 125 yards and two touchdowns. After his freshman season, he was granted with a first team All-Sun Belt selection and Sun Belt Freshman of the Year honors.

McGuire’s sophomore year was the most productive season of his career, rushing for 1,264 yards and 14 touchdowns while eclipsing the 100-yard mark five times. Not only was he solid on the ground, but he was very impressive as a receiver out of the backfield, catching 45 receptions for 468 yards and two touchdowns. His performance in 2014 put him on the map in the devy community. Arkansas State didn’t know what hit them during week eight when he rushed for 265 yards and four touchdowns while averaging 13.9 yards per carry.

His success carried over to his junior season as he received nominations for the Doak Walker Watch List, Maxwell Award Watch List and the Hornung Award Watch List. He surpassed the 100-yard mark just three times during his junior campaign. His best game on the ground came against Northwestern State when he rushed for 162 yards and five touchdowns. McGuire caught an outstanding ten receptions for 134 yards and one touchdown against Arkansas State during week seven.

As his workload increased during his career, his yards per carry also dropped from an 8.4 average as a freshman to just 4.9 yards per carry during his senior year. His senior season saw a career high of 232 rushing attempts and a career low of just seven rushing touchdowns. Nonetheless, he was still very productive, rushing for 1,127 yards and seven touchdowns while catching 29 receptions for 238 yards and two touchdowns. Keep in mind, he was playing through a foot injury during his senior season, which may have affected his production. His 4,301 career rushing yards ranks second in school history behind Tyrell Fenroy.

Player Profiler is one of the best sites on the internet when it comes to in depth analytics concerning NFL players and prospects. Let’s take a look at what they have instore for Elijah McGuire.

When it comes to his college production, McGuire is above average with a 32.1 percent college dominator rating, which ranks within 67th percentile amongst running back prospects. His 4.9 yards per carry is well below average and is considered a red flag because it indicates that he may not be an efficient runner.

He scored above average in the 40-yard dash, speed score and burst score, making him an above average athlete. He’s going to be tough to tackle in the open field, considering his 101.6 speed score ranks in the 66th percentile amongst running back prospects. Burst score is a very important metric since it provides a portrait of how quick a running back can accelerate while hitting the hole. McGuire’s 121.2 burst score is above average and tells us that he potentially has enough burst to easily make it to the second level of the defense once he finds the crease in the defense.

Charles Sims is McGuire’s best comparable player. Both running backs were superb at catching the ball out of the backfield in college and both prospects have a similar build. There are some differences between the two players, Sims is more athletic, being that he’s a faster and more explosive player when compared to McGuire.

Mock Draftable is another tremendous resource when it comes to gathering athletic metrics for NFL prospects and they display their content in an easy to read spider-web chart that compares current prospects to current NFL players. Let’s analyze McGuire’s spider-web chart.

Just like his Player Profiler page, McGuire’s spider-web chart shows that he’s above average in the 40-yard dash, vertical jump and the broad jump. His three-cone is rather dismal, placing in the 13th percentile, which means he might experience issues when changing directions while trying to avoid defenders.

Marshawn Lynch, Joseph Addai and Chris Ivory are the most notable players listed on his athletic comparisons, meaning that he has some similar athletic traits when compared to the previous mentioned players.

Below is footage from his performance against Texas State in 2015 when he rushed for 170 yards and one touchdown. Of course, Texas State isn’t top notch competition but this game displays most of his traits as a runner, providing a clear view of his overall skill set.

McGuire is a one-cut down hill runner who is very decisive before hitting the hole. He has solid burst and acceleration, making it easy for him to get to the second level of the defense once he finds the crease in the defensive line. McGuire is also a bit of a slasher due to his ability to cut back and hit a crease that’s a few gaps away.

He’s a solid receiver, caught 130 receptions during his collegiate career and he’s more than capable of catching the ball out of the backfield. McGuire is a tremendous hands-catcher and does a very good job at using his hand eye coordination at the catch point. The Ragin Cajuns allowed him to run routes as a receiver out of the slot. He is an inconsistent pass blocker who more than capable and is willing to make blocks but he will often whiff or allow defenders to blow right by him.

Like all running back prospects, McGuire has a few red flags. He lacks agility and doesn’t move laterally very well, hurting his ability to bounce runs to the outside and juke defenders in the open field. Due to his lack of patience he tends to run into the backside of his blockers.

McGuire should go in the mid-late rounds of rookie drafts and depending on where he goes in the draft he could see an influx in value. More than likely, he will be a taxi squad stash during the first season or two of his career, but his pass catching prowess should eventually provide value in PPR leagues. He’s not the perfect back but he has enough gusto to make a splash as a solid RB2 if given the opportunity in the right situation.

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Bruce Matson

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

I'm a financial counselor for a hospital in South Central Ohio. I graduated from Muskingum University with a bachelor's in business while minoring in Economics and Accounting. I won my first fantasy football title with Jake Plummer as my quarterback.