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The Washington Redskins added to their offensive weaponry with their second pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, taking Antonio Gibson with the No. 66 overall selection, a running back/wide receiver combo out of Memphis.
Gibson will instantly have the chance to become an impact player in Washington, and he will compete for valuable minutes right out of training camp this fall, whenever that gets underway.
In college, Gibson used his unique skill set to stand apart from the bulk of players, acting as a dynamic swiss army knife type player catching passes out of the backfield and lining up outside a bit as well.
The Redskins are coming off of a year when they needed some help at the running back position, with Adrian Peterson being the lone back that they could rely on. Going into 2020, Derrius Guice is expected to be healthy and shoulder a lot of the load, but adding Gibson to the backfield will help alleviate the loss of Chris Thompson in free agency. The Redskins also signed Peyton Barber and J.D. McKissic this offseason, so Gibson will work to compete with them to get minutes in the rotation.
An interesting thing about this pick is what it says about Bryce Love as well. Love was drafted in the fourth round in 2019 but was sidelined all year due to injury. Many hoped that he would be ready by the time the 2020 season came around, but that is unclear now. The Redksins’ willingness to add to their stable of RBs may signal that he isn’t as close to returning as some thought.
Regardless, by drafting a WR/RB combo, Washington is letting it be known that they value that position and are doing everything they can to give QB Dwayne Haskins the weapons he needs to be successful in the NFL.
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