Washington Football Team: Five players to watch in Week 2 vs. ARI
By Ian Cummings
No. 4 – RB Antonio Gibson
It was a lackluster debut for Antonio Gibson, who only put up 36 rushing yards on nine carries and eight receiving yards on two catches. Taking out Gibson’s longest run, a 20-yarder, the rookie had eight carries for 16 yards, sporting a meager two-yard average.
Despite his statistical output, however, Gibson did show off the athletic qualities that has the Washington Football Team so enamored with him as a potential weapon — explosiveness, speed, contact balance, and agility in space.
The best days are ahead for Gibson, and one of those days could be coming this week. The Cardinals’ linebackers struggled to keep up with Raheem Mostert last Sunday; Mostert logged well over 100 yards from scrimmage and found the end zone on a 76-yard catch.
Gibson is far bigger than Mostert, measuring in over 30 pounds heavier and two full inches taller. But the two have very similar speed values. Mostert is slightly more explosive, but their 40-yard dash times are almost exactly the same. Mostert ran a 4.38 at his pro day years back, while Gibson clocked a 4.39 at the NFL Combine earlier this year.
Gibson brings the speed that made Mostert such a crucial weapon for the 49ers last week, and while he doesn’t yet have the feel or the vision of a veteran, he has the thickness and contact balance that are unique to his profile, and there’s a chance he stands out against a suspect second level Cardinals defense.