Washington Football Team grades for the 2021 offense
By Hunter Noll
![EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - JANUARY 09: Antonio Gibson #24 of the Washington Football Team celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on January 09, 2022 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - JANUARY 09: Antonio Gibson #24 of the Washington Football Team celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on January 09, 2022 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/1cc560ef881b81a7a9759ec1e94bb634c7047afea32e3a79d07222ce58e9f8f6.jpg)
Washington Football Team running backs
Antonio Gibson was the breakout star in his rookie year at running back for the Washington Football Team. He ended up having a really solid season when you look at the numbers. However, there were a few major problems.
For one thing, Gibson led all running backs with six fumbles. That’s obviously not good. He also entered Week 18 averaging just 3.8 yards per carry. A great last game got him over 1,000 yards and up to 4.0 yards per carry. He also added a solid 42 receptions for 294 yards and three touchdowns.
Gibson was solid and it’s important to note that he had just two fumbles in his final nine games, so maybe he’s already cleaning that up. Overall it was a disappointing season but still pretty good and he showed off that elite potential. Final grade: B-
J.D. McKissic is so good at his job. He averaged 4.4 yards per carry (212 yards on 38 carries) with two touchdowns, showing he can handle some runs when he needs to. But it’s the receiving game where he shines. McKissic racked up 48 receptions for 212 yards and two more touchdowns in 11 games. He’s such a good receiving weapon out of the backfield. Injuries slowed him down, but he’s definitely extremely valuable. Final grade: B
Jaret Patterson had an amazing year. He finished with 68 carries for 266 yards (3.9 yards per carry) and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, he added 10 receptions for 73 yards in the passing game. Okay, the numbers don’t seem great. This is an undrafted free agent rookie though. He made the most of situations and had an awesome game when thrust into the starting role. Final grade: B+
Jonathan Williams probably shouldn’t get a grade. He appeared in just five games for Washington and only had 17 carries. That being said, he racked up 79 yards (4.6 yards per carry) and a touchdown in that time. He also added four receptions for 28 yards. Williams was a solid late-season addition that played his role well.
Overall, this seems like a solid unit. They all got at least a “B-“. There were the fumble problems though and quite a few games where the running game was non-existent. It didn’t help that the passing game wasn’t great either, but still. With that in mind, we can’t go too high. But their 121.2 rushing yards per game were ranked 12th in the NFL. Final grade: B-