Washington running back Antonio Gibson a breakout candidate in year 2
When the Washington Football Team selected running back Antonio Gibson in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft, many suspected the speedster would be used in a number of roles on offense as a rookie.
That didn’t happen. Instead, Gibson became the WFT’s primary ball carrier as a rookie. In fact, the team liked Gibson’s potential so much, it let go of both Derrius Guice and Adrian Peterson in training camp. While Guice’s release had more to do with off-field concerns, it was clear the team believed it had a star in Gibson.
Gibson delivered. He played in 14 games as a rookie, rushed for 795 yards and 11 touchdowns. Gibson also averaged an impressive 4.7 yards per attempt.
Unfortunately, Gibson was plagued by a toe injury late in the season, costing him a chance at 1,000 yards as a rookie.
Fully healthy, Gibson is ready for an even bigger year in 2021. Pro Football Focus recently predicted Gibson would be one of the breakout second-year players for this upcoming season.
Antonio Gibson might’ve come into the NFL last season with more career college receptions (44) than rushing attempts (33), but that did not stop him from becoming Washington’s RB1 and eclipsing 1,000 total yards in 2020. Despite the lack of experience toting the football, Gibson was one of the more efficient runners in the league last year. As a rookie, he recorded the highest rate of runs that gained positive yardage in a season since 2012 (96.2%).
If Antonio Gibson gets a full workload — and not fewer carries than players like Frank Gore — then expect him to emerge as a top-10 running back in the NFL next season.
All the metrics suggest Gibson could become one of the top running backs in the NFL if he plays a full, healthy season. He scored well in some important areas as a rookie, such as missed tackles forces and percent of runs that gained positive yardage.
If Gibson does become one of the NFL’s top 10 running backs in 2021, Washington’s offense has a chance to be the most improved unit in the league with the upgrades to the passing game.
