Washington football: Analyzing the importance of Antonio Gibson

Can Antonio Gibson help fix the Washington football team’s offensive woes?

After drafting Antonio in the third round, head coach Ron Rivera spoke highly of Antonio Gibson‘s game, stating a plethora of things like “He has a skill set like Christian (McCaffrey).” He also added: “He’s a little bit bigger than Christian; this is a very versatile, young football player that we think is going to be a guy that can get on the field for us early and contribute.”

With high praise comes high expectations. But these are expectations that Gibson can surely live up to. If you never watched tape on No. 24 for the burgundy and gold, his game revolves around versatility, elusiveness, and playmaking, all of which Washington could use on Sunday’s for their offense.

With second-year QB Dwayne Haskins in need of talent to help him develop as a thrower, and an established WR1 in Terry McLaurin, Antonio Gibson has been drafted to what seems to be a perfect fit.

Gibson can play both in the backfield as a running back and out wide as a slot receiver. He brings a much-needed amount of versatility to both positions, and he adds a dimension that is severely lacking on this team, and that’s explosive, chunk plays.

The Washington coaching staff and front office agree, with Scott Turner mentioning to JP Finlay: “You want to be as unpredictable as possible. Guys that are able to do more things give you more options.”

Additionally, Washington football VP of Player Personnel Kyle Smith stated: “Speaking with Coach Turner and how he’s going to utilize him along with the other backs, you know, it’s not just like a normal running back that you’re like, ‘okay, here’s his skill set.’ You can put him on the field with Adrian Peterson, with Derrius Guice, with J.D. McKissic. You can use this guy in a lot of different ways, so it opens up a lot of different options for our offense.”

In addition to the co-signs from the higher-ups, Gibson was a proven talent during his senior season at Memphis. An average of 11.2 yards per carry out of the backfield and 19.3 yards per catch as a receiver has him living up to the “Human Cheat Code” nickname fans have given him already.

Considering the volume will be there as it pertains to the touches he’ll be receiving, the opportunity he’ll be given, and Scott Turner looking for every possible way to scheme Gibson in the open field with the ball in his hands, Gibson can truly uplift what has been a dreadful Washington offense.

Gibson will also have the game opened up for him, with the outside presence that is Terry McLaurin. With a proven commodity outside, a fringe top-10 wideout on the field, defenses will have to pick their poison between Tony and Terry.