Antonio Gibson 2021 Fantasy Outlook Ascending, Set to Transform into Three-Down Weapon

The former collegiate WR is set for increased passing game involvement in year two.

We all know the Antonio Gibson story now that he’s entering his sophomore season of the NFL. The former Swiss-Army Knife, RB/WR hybrid out of Memphis made The Wolf look extremely smart after he finished RB12 in 2020 fantasy football and dominated for stretches throughout his rookie season. But what’s even scarier is he did all of this without even scratching the surface of his true, three-down potential.

The Washington Football Team coaching staff wants Gibson, who caught only 36 passes last season, to be more involved in the passing game and also enhance his route tree — two areas that the former collegiate WR surprisingly struggled with as a rookie.

“The biggest thing for him is continuing to progress, not only as a runner but as a pass-catcher,” Randy Jordan, WFT running backs coach, told ESPN. “That’s something we haven’t really tapped in[to] a lot.”

It’s not a talent issue for Gibson. He has reliable hands and has shown the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, on slant routes, and down the seam. Jordan said he needs to improve his splits and alignment and properly execute every route at an elite level.

“The more opportunities he has to do it, [the better] he’ll get… at it,” Jordan said.

The second-year back’s main goal should be to cut into JD McKissic’s third-down role, where McKissic out-snapped Gibson 197-22 on that down last season. If Gibson can decrease that margin a bit, he should finish as a top-ten 2021 fantasy running back and even contend for the overall RB1.

Remember, when released last season, Adrian Peterson insinuated he was without a role as the team readied Gibson for a “Pony Style” role.

What was incredible about Gibson’s rookie season was his ability to make an immediate impact as a pure running back after totaling only 33 carries at Memphis. He finished last season with 795 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns.

“Last year was still a learning process for me,” Gibson said. “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.”

Gibson’s explosiveness was on display with 21 carries of 10-plus yards and highlighted by his three-touchdown, 136 total yard Thanksgiving explosion against the Cowboys.

“You can tell he’s matured, got a better feel and understanding,” Ron Rivera said during minicamp. “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 also helps that Washington improved its offense during the offseason. They added Ryan Fitzpatrick under center, playmakers Curtis Samuel and Dyami Brown, and bolstered the offensive line with veteran left tackle Charles Leno Jr., and second-round pick Sam Cosmi.

Those bits of news were great and everything. But, I’m going to be a black cloud for a moment.

Gibson missed two games at the end of last season for a turf toe injury and he told reporters earlier this month that he’s still dealing with the lingering effects of the injury.

“It was something small that was causing me not to be able to run 100 percent,” Gibson said. “But I’m fine now. I’ve been cutting in practice and getting better each day. Definitely, something to monitor. I’ve been fine like I said. I’ve been cutting and running full speed, making cuts I need to make. … But I definitely got to watch and make sure I stay up on my treatment, so nothing goes south. But definitely watching throughout the time until I’m 100 percent.”

His participation in OTAs should give fantasy owners optimism, but turf toe is always tricky and it could pop up any time throughout the season.

“He still has loads of speed and still has loads of change-of-direction ability,” said Gibson’s trainer, Brent Callaway. “Now it’s about getting that in the right condition so there aren’t lingering problems with his foot.”

After news of the lingering injury, The Wolf dropped Gibson a few spots down his 2021 Fantasy Football Rankings & Big Board to RB15 (-2 vs ECR), but he remains in Tier 3 with the likes of Joe Mixon, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and Jonathan Taylor.

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