Memphis’ Antonio Gibson doesn’t have a ton of experience, but his skill set makes him intriguing for the 49ers.
Offensive playmakers top the 49ers’ relatively short list of urgent needs going into the NFL draft. While they’ll address that area in the early rounds, there’s a prospect who’ll likely be available in the later rounds who brings versatility that aligns perfectly with 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan’s almost position-less offense.
Memphis’ Antonio Gibson is listed on his NFL.com draft profile as a wide receiver. Pigeonholing him into one position is impossible though, which is what makes him an intriguing name to connect to San Francisco.
Gibson measured in at 6-0, 228 pounds at the NFL combine, which is more of a prototypical running back build than wide receiver. He also showed off good straight-line speed with a 4.39 40-yard dash. His fit with the 49ers comes in the multifaceted skill set he displayed both at East Central Community College and at Memphis.
It’s not a huge surprise a player with Gibson’s athletic background stood out as a do-everything player on the field. He was a track, basketball and two-way football star in high school before landing at East Central CC.
In two years with the Warriors, Gibson caught 50 passes for 871 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also notched 43 carries for 249 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. This all came while he handled kick return duties and averaged 20.5 yards per return.
His first year at Memphis was underwhelming considering his high-level productivity in the junior college ranks. He caught just six balls for 99 yards and two touchdowns in five games. Gibson didn’t earn a carry and returned only one kick for two yards.
Last season he was back to contributing in a variety of facets. He caught 38 passes for 735 yards and eight touchdowns, and ran it 33 times for 369 yards and four touchdowns. The Tigers also put him on kick return duties where he averaged 28 yards per return and ran one back for a touchdown.
While the statistical production is limited, it’s worth noting that Gibson averaged 19.0 yards per catch, 11.2 yards per carry, and racked up 14 touchdowns on 77 offensive touches.
There’s not a lot of nuance to Gibson as a runner, which is okay for the role he’d take on in Shanahan’s offense. He can line up in the backfield and take an outside zone handoff where he makes one cut and goes, but he can also split out and play receiver or go in motion on the jet sweeps that Deebo Samuel was so good at last season. Samuel was also a dual-threat player at South Carolina, although he was more clearly cut out as a receiver.
That ability to play multiple positions jibes with the direction the 49ers offense is headed. They drafted Samuel in the second-round last year. They also took Jalen Hurd, a college running back and wide receiver, in the third round last year. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk is a Swiss Army knife type of player. So is tight end George Kittle. Gibson would add to the growing list of players that give Shanahan the ability to add more of the wrinkles and deception that make his offense difficult to stop.
Perhaps the 49ers aren’t looking for another Samuel-type player, but with a question mark hanging over Hurd’s roster, a player with Gibson’s skill set could certainly carve out a role in the offense. He isn’t a great route runner, but he’s very good at breaking tackles and making defenders miss after the catch. His top-end speed makes him a home run threat every time he touches the ball.
San Francisco shouldn’t use an early pick to reach for Gibson since he does have only one full season of Division-I production under his belt and he doesn’t have any elite tools that typically make a great receiver or running back. If they find him on the board in the later rounds, there are a lot of ways the tools he does have can make him successful with the 49ers.
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