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Redskins receiver Antonio Gibson’s value goes beyond numbers

By Tim Meek

MEMPHIS, TN - DECEMBER 7: Antonio Gibson #14 of the Memphis Tigers celebrates a touchdown with Dylan Parham #56 against the Cincinnati Bearcats during the American Athletic Conference Championship game on December 7, 2019 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis defeated Cincinnati 29-24. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images)
MEMPHIS, TN - DECEMBER 7: Antonio Gibson #14 of the Memphis Tigers celebrates a touchdown with Dylan Parham #56 against the Cincinnati Bearcats during the American Athletic Conference Championship game on December 7, 2019 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis defeated Cincinnati 29-24. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images) /
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LANDOVER, MD – DECEMBER 15: A Washington Redskins helmet is seen on the field before the game between the Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles at FedExField on December 15, 2019 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD – DECEMBER 15: A Washington Redskins helmet is seen on the field before the game between the Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles at FedExField on December 15, 2019 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

The NFL Draft wrapped up over a week ago. Since its conclusion, we’ve had information overload on all the Redskins’ newly-added talent.

As fans, we typically get caught up in numbers. It’s natural, I’m a numbers guy too. I grew up with my head stuck in a sports almanac. I knew the All-Time leaders in every major statistical category in all sports. I’d get up every morning and dissect the sports page, spending hours reading box scores, looking at standings and reading featured articles.

As I got older, Fantasy Football became a thing. Now the stats and numbers that I loved so much could be put to use for a game. Numbers were consuming me. So when the Washington Redskins selected Antonio Gibson with their third-round pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, naturally, I took a look at his numbers. And those numbers his senior season were gaudy.

By now you’ve all seen them: 38 receptions averaging 19.3 yards per catch. 33 rushes averaging 11.2 yards per rush. 12 touchdowns on 71 touches. Another TD on a kick return.

Okay, so the skeptic in me said “he did this at Memphis; was he a product of playing against lower level talent?” So I dug deeper. As a numbers guy, I needed to know his measurables:

6-foot-0, 228 pounds

4.39 40-yard dash

My numbers were adding up nicely at this point. Now it was time to see some highlights, so I searched his name on YouTube. The first three videos on YouTube were titled as follows:

  1.  ACC’s Human Cheat Code
  2. The most exciting player in the 2020 draft
  3. The most underrated athlete in America

As impressive as these titles were, his highlight clips were even better. I never pretend to be a talent evaluator and I don’t “watch tape”. I see what I see, and he looked amazing — an explosive playmaker.

So the numbers appear to translate on the field, and that’s exciting. He’s not simply a workout warrior. But I try not to form opinions on guys I’ve only seen on highlight reels. So what’s next?

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