There's a story out talking about Antonio Gibson. The Commanders running back, it seems, has been impressing at OTAs with his receiving ability. This is not exactly surprising, given that Gibson was a wide receiver in college, but it's something to pay particular attention to given the team's current depth chart and new offensive coordinator.
Washington hired former Kansas City OC Eric Bienemy in the offseason. Bienemy doesn't have Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, to put it mildly, but he should certainly attempt to do some of the same things with the offense, including utilizing running backs in the passing game -- between the 20s, and around the end zone. Which will definitely be Gibson, with J.D. McKissic gone and Brian Robinson not likely to be involved in that capacity.
A year ago, Robinson caught just 9 passes in 12 games. He seems functional in that regard (he caught 35 balls in his final season at Alabama), but Gibson is a whole lot better. As a receiver at Memphis, he caught 44 passes for 834 yards and 10 touchdowns in 19 games, averaging 19 yards per reception. If Bienemy tries to do some of the same kind of things he did with Jerick McKinnon, Gibson could be a nice option in PPR leagues.
Last year Kansas City averaged nearly 49 receiving yards per game from its running backs. That was more than anyone but the Chargers (Austin Ekeler) and Bucs (Leonard Fournette). Washington was a little better than average, at 36 yards per game, with Gibson and McKissic accounting for most of that. Their passing game is going to be a level or two below Kansas City's, but that's the kind of role that Gibson could be lined up for.
| RUNNING BACK RECEIVING (TEAM), 2022 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | YPG | Tgt | No | Yds | Avg | TD |
| LA Chargers | 53.6 | 178 | 140 | 911 | 6.5 | 7 |
| Tampa Bay | 48.9 | 147 | 128 | 831 | 6.5 | 5 |
| Kansas City | 48.6 | 112 | 89 | 826 | 9.3 | 12 |
| San Francisco | 47.4 | 110 | 87 | 806 | 9.3 | 6 |
| Cincinnati | 46.8 | 133 | 103 | 796 | 7.7 | 7 |
| Denver | 41.5 | 122 | 92 | 706 | 7.7 | 2 |
| NY Jets | 41.1 | 126 | 87 | 699 | 8.0 | 2 |
| Detroit | 40.2 | 119 | 82 | 684 | 8.3 | 4 |
| Tennessee | 40.0 | 85 | 70 | 680 | 9.7 | 4 |
| Las Vegas | 39.9 | 111 | 92 | 678 | 7.4 | 2 |
| New Orleans | 38.2 | 107 | 85 | 650 | 7.6 | 2 |
| Washington | 36.8 | 121 | 89 | 626 | 7.0 | 3 |
| Green Bay | 36.4 | 116 | 88 | 618 | 7.0 | 5 |
| Indianapolis | 35.3 | 123 | 99 | 600 | 6.1 | 1 |
| Carolina | 33.9 | 85 | 64 | 577 | 9.0 | 1 |
| Arizona | 33.7 | 112 | 84 | 573 | 6.8 | 1 |
| New England | 33.4 | 119 | 94 | 568 | 6.0 | 1 |
| Buffalo | 31.8 | 101 | 71 | 540 | 7.6 | 3 |
| Miami | 31.4 | 113 | 73 | 533 | 7.3 | 5 |
| Dallas | 30.9 | 85 | 62 | 526 | 8.5 | 3 |
| Houston | 30.9 | 132 | 98 | 525 | 5.4 | 2 |
| NY Giants | 29.1 | 109 | 82 | 495 | 6.0 | 0 |
| Minnesota | 29.0 | 88 | 66 | 493 | 7.5 | 3 |
| Jacksonville | 28.7 | 82 | 64 | 488 | 7.6 | 2 |
| Seattle | 28.5 | 84 | 68 | 485 | 7.1 | 1 |
| Pittsburgh | 28.4 | 95 | 78 | 482 | 6.2 | 4 |
| Cleveland | 27.3 | 88 | 67 | 464 | 6.9 | 2 |
| Chicago | 24.4 | 62 | 46 | 414 | 9.0 | 2 |
| LA Rams | 21.2 | 63 | 49 | 361 | 7.4 | 0 |
| Atlanta | 19.6 | 66 | 53 | 333 | 6.3 | 1 |
| Baltimore | 15.7 | 63 | 49 | 267 | 5.4 | 2 |
| Philadelphia | 15.4 | 61 | 48 | 262 | 5.5 | 0 |
Kansas City was not only 3rd in receiving yards per game by running backs, it led the league with 12 touchdowns from the position. Sam Howell or Jacoby Brissett will throw fewer touchdowns, but Gibson is a much better bet to be on the receiving end of those passes than Robinson. A mid- to late-round pick with potential (obviously, if Robinson were to get hurt, giving Gibson a shot at also being the primary runner, his prospects would look even better).
--Andy Richardson