Best 2021 NFL breakout candidate from every team

Washington Football Team: Antonio Gibson, Running Back

While playing at Memphis, Antonio Gibson was listed as a wide receiver but played a little running back. During his final season, he had 38 receptions for 735 yards and eight touchdowns. He was an impressive deep threat, averaging 19.3 yards per catch.

He was also dangerous in his 33 rushes for 369 yards which was an average of 11.2 per attempt — and he added another four touchdowns. In all, he had 71 touches for 1,104 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Even with all that production, he was considered a project player as a third-round pick who would be moving to running back full-time. As a rookie for the Washington Football Team, he performed well with 795 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground, and 36 receptions for 247 yards.

He had a very good season but it feels as though he’s hardly scratched the surface of what he can do in the NFL. Throw in the fact that Washington is expected to be better in the second year under Ron Rivera and there’s no reason not to bank on a bigger campaign from Gibson.

With him set as the feature back, he should get enough carries to top 1,000-yards and with better quarterback play expected now that Ryan Fitzpatrick is in town, he should also add more as a receiver as well.