‘Showtime’: What’s Next for Washington RB Antonio Gibson?

It’s about to be showtime for Antonio Gibson.

"Last year was still a learning process for me," said Gibson, the Washington Football Team’s second-year running back. "I got the hang of it as the season went on and I started showing progress. But ... I feel like I should be able to show a lot of different things this year.”

What Gibson did as a rookie was impressive enough, especially as he made the conversion from college receiver at Memphis to running back in the NFL. After all, Gibson rushed for 795 yards and 11 touchdowns.

But the learning curve was evidenced in another number. As ESPN’s John Keim points out: “In his first eight games, he averaged 4.34 yards per carry with seven runs of 10 yards or more. In his last six games … Gibson averaged 5.05 yards per carry with 14 runs of 10 yards or more.

"It's like night and day," running backs coach Randy Jordan said of Gibson’s continuing improvement.

The Washington Football Team asked Gibson to carry a big load as a rookie. As WFT enters 2021 and Gibson puts his good rookie season behind him, it seems this roster will provide him support. The threat of QB Ryan Fitzpatrick should be enough to loosen things up for Gibson - who can also serve as a premium pass-catcher while sharing the backfield with the veteran quarterback.

"You can tell he's matured, got a better feel and understanding," Washington coach Ron Rivera said. “Those natural instincts that you look for, the intangibles that guys that have been playing the positions their whole career naturally have. You start to see those come to light with Antonio. It's exciting."

Add it all up, and for Antonio Gibson and the WFT offense? It just might be “showtime” in 2021.