Washington Football Team should lean on rookie RB Antonio Gibson
The Washington Football Team should feature rookie running back Antonio Gibson during the 2020 season.
Late last week, the Washington Football Team made the decision to release running back Derrius Guice soon after his domestic violence arrest. Guice was expected to be a major part of their offensive attack this season and his absence leaves opportunity for others on the roster.
Adrian Peterson will obviously play a major role in replacing Guice, but rookie running back Antonio Gibson stands as the guy who should be the featured player. The Washington Football Team added Gibson to the mix in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He enters the league as an exciting natural playmaker who can impact the game in a variety of ways.
Last season at Memphis, Gibson only carried the ball 33 times for 369 yards and four touchdowns. However, he made an even bigger impact in the receiving game, catching 38 passes for 735 yards and eight touchdowns. Gibson played a lot of slot receiver in the Memphis offense, but he certainly showed a ton of upside with the ball in his hands, which bodes well for his ability to make an impact in the backfield at the next level.
Gibson may not be the kind of player who can be counted on as a workhorse running back. That being said, his raw upside as an offensive playmaker is painfully obvious.
The Washington Football Team has not exactly set themselves up for immediate success. They should be building their roster for the future and using the 2020 season to find guys who can make an impact for the team for many years.
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Offensively, the growth of quarterback Dwayne Haskins is more important than anything else. Washington must also try to find as many impact offensive playmakers to put around Haskins as possible. Gibson is not a perfect running back prospect, but he is the far and away the running back with the highest ceiling on their roster. Washington must look to feature Gibson in a big way in 2020 and set him up for future success with the franchise.