New York Jets 2017 Rookie profile: Elijah McGuire
A profile of New York Jets sixth round draft pick, Elijah McGuire, running back from Louisiana-Lafayette.
The New York Jets had a lot of holes to fill during this off-season. Early in the draft, they addressed the secondary with Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye. Over the next three rounds, they acquired weapons for whomever the quarterback is going to be, adding ArDarius Stewart, Chad Hansen, and Jordan Leggett.
In the sixth round, Mike Maccagnan decided on a running back out of the small school known as Louisiana-Lafayette. His name is Elijah McGuire and he is the subject of today’s rookie profile.
We begin with the statistics (per Sports Reference):
| Rushing | Receiving | Scrimmage | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Plays | Yds | Avg | TD |
| *2013 | Louisiana-Lafayette | Sun Belt | FR | RB | 13 | 103 | 863 | 8.4 | 8 | 22 | 384 | 17.5 | 3 | 125 | 1247 | 10.0 | 11 |
| *2014 | Louisiana-Lafayette | Sun Belt | SO | RB | 13 | 166 | 1264 | 7.6 | 14 | 45 | 468 | 10.4 | 2 | 211 | 1732 | 8.2 | 16 |
| 2015 | Louisiana-Lafayette | Sun Belt | JR | RB | 12 | 209 | 1047 | 5.0 | 13 | 34 | 304 | 8.9 | 3 | 243 | 1351 | 5.6 | 16 |
| 2016 | Louisiana-Lafayette | Sun Belt | SR | RB | 13 | 232 | 1127 | 4.9 | 7 | 29 | 238 | 8.2 | 2 | 261 | 1365 | 5.2 | 9 |
| Career | Louisiana-Lafayette | 710 | 4301 | 6.1 | 42 | 130 | 1394 | 10.7 | 10 | 840 | 5695 | 6.8 | 52 |
The first thing we can note is the fact that he stayed in school for all four years. There is no substitute for game experience, and McGuire played in 51 games while at college. That’s a lot of prep time for the pros. He also averaged 6.1 yards per carry. No matter what the level of competition is, 6.1 yards per carry is a big number.
130 receptions shows he is one of the better receiving running backs that came out of this class. The numbers indicate a skill-set similar to that of Bilal Powell.
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There is an added bonus that he has returned 28 punts in his college career. The best way for a late round draft pick to get noticed is on special teams. Ask Terrell Davis about that. If McGuire can contribute in the return game, it will help his standing greatly.
Measureables
Height: 5-10
Weight: 214 pounds
Arm Length: 31″
Hands: 9″
40-Yard Dash: 4.53s
Let’s look at some notes from his draft profile:
"Strengths: Compact frame with good thickness in legs. Runs with good ball security. Very athletic with plus acceleration. Runs with forward lean and has strong burst through the hole when he sees it. Plant-and-go runner. Able to cut it back two gaps away.Weaknesses: Drops head, causing him to lose sight heading into the hole. Poor feel for spacing of the running lane. Runs too close to defensive linemen when open area is available. Lacks desired downhill toughness. Has no jump cut for optimal elusiveness."
That’s what the scouts have to say. Let’s see what we think by looking at some videotape. Nothing is better than the eye test.
After watching these tapes and others, there is some good news. He is quite adept as a receiver, which will help. McGuire has decent vision through the hole as well when running the football. He has a good feel for following the blocking in front of him and can shoot through the hole when it’s there. Get him some room and McGuire has a second gear that takes the ball a long way. He also shows excellent balance and is a willing blocker.
The biggest issue going the other way is how he finishes runs. Simply, he doesn’t. Watch these tapes closely. When it comes to the end of a run, he hardly ever lays a shoulder into a defender to gain extra yardage with power. He also isn’t elusive in the hole, not making a final cut to get that extra yardage as well. McGuire seems to just go down. He ends his runs too easily, which will make it difficult for him unless he can learn to improve there.
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One thing going for Stewart is the fact that, behind Bilal Powell and Matt Forte, the depth chart is very slim. Unfortunately, it will be a hard road for McGuire to ascend up that chart.