Washington Football Team: Three underrated needs in 2021 NFL Draft

2. Running Back

The Washington Football has a quality duo at running back between Antonio Gibson and J.D. McKissic. Gibson is a do-it-all running back with the physicality to run it on inside zones, quickness, and elusiveness to be good on outside-zone running plays, and has a receiver skillset being a former wide receiver. Gibson still is learning the position but once he does, there really is no limit to his ceiling.

J.D. McKissic is a quality scatback and proved to be a reliable target for the quarterback underneath in 2020. He totaled 80 receptions and almost 600 yards through the air. McKissic is also solid as a runner, although, it is not his major strength. McKissic is a solid change-of-pace back to Gibson.

However, after these two the room is rather bare. Peyton Barber is a decent power back. He is the master of the 3rd & 1. If you need 1, he will get you 3. If you need 10, he will get you 3. He averaged 2.7 yards per carry in 2020. Barber is the type of running back that can always be improved upon.

After Barber, there is Lamar Miller, a running back with probably too much tread on his tires to put too much faith in. And Bryce Love has not played a down in the NFL since being drafted in 2019 as he still battles back from injury.

Simply put, the Washington Football Team needs a backup to Antonio Gibson. McKissic cannot shoulder the load of a typical running back. This became apparent when Gibson went down with turf toe for about a month in 2020. The running game became stagnant, and the offense became even more one-dimensional.

To maintain balance in the event of injury and also give Scott Turner more options to choose from, Washington needs to consider taking a running back on Day 3. Some options for them to consider would be Mississipi State’s Kylin Hill, Virginia Tech’s Khalil Herbert, Buffalo’s Jaret Patterson, Kansas’ Pooka Williams, and Lousiville’s Javien Hawkins.