WFT's Antonio Gibson Break-Out? What PFF Thinks

Washington is looking to become an elite offense in 2021 to match its defense. Having young stars like Antonio Gibson certainly helps.

The third-round rookie blew up midseason for the Washington Football Team's ground game and eventually became the lead back. Powered by his legs, WFT's five wins towards the season's end helped the NFC East claim a spot in the postseason.

It's always about improving in the NFL each season. Can Gibson only get better with another year under his belt? Pro Football Focus' Zach Tantillo certainly thinks so.

Antonio Gibson might’ve come into the NFL last season with more career college receptions (44) than rushing attempts (33), but that did not stop him from becoming Washington’s RB1 and eclipsing 1,000 total yards in 2020. Despite the lack of experience toting the football, Gibson was one of the more efficient runners in the league last year. As a rookie, he recorded the highest rate of runs that gained positive yardage in a season since 2012 (96.2%).

If Antonio Gibson gets a full workload — and not fewer carries than players like

Frank Gore

— then expect him to emerge as a top-10 running back in the NFL next season. -

PFF's Zach Tantillo

In 2020, Gibson recorded over 1,000 total yards on the season, 795 of which came on the ground off 170 carries. He also recorded 11 total touchdowns and averaged 37 catches and averaged over 5.1 yards per total play.

According to PFF, Gibson finished the season with 37 missed tackles forced and had four rushing touchdowns of over ten or more yards. He also did this while learning to play the position full-time after splitting reps at Memphis as both a receiver and secondary running back.

Other names on the list from Tantillo include Dallas' CeeDee Lamb, Denver's Jerry Jeudy, Arizona's Isaiah Simmons and Cincinnati's Joe Burrow and Tee Higgins. Lamb feels to be ready to make the next leap inside the division, but he'll be splitting reps with Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup.

For now, Gibson should be the most productive WFT back. J.D. McKissic is a good pass-catching target while rookie Jarrett Patterson could be used in a scatback-type role.

The expectations are that Gibson's rep counts will allow him to emerge as a top-10 rushing threat. When looking at just the start of his NFL career and where he might be headed, the expectations feel right.