This week (Monday-Friday) Commanders Wire will reveal in ascending order the top-five draft choices Ron Rivera has made in his three earlier drafts. Consequently, none of the 2023 NFL draft will be eligible for this list, seeing they have yet to play in the NFL.
Further, initially keep in mind that it is still much too early to know what Jahan Dotson, Phidarian Mathis, Percy Butler and Sam Howell are going to provide from the 2022 class.
Honorable Mention:
Chase Young also does not make our top five list because of virtually no productivity from the 2021 and 2022 seasons. But because of his high productivity in 2020, he nearly made the list and deserves an honorable mention.
Other honorable mention draftees during the Rivera era: Darrick Forrest and John Bates.
So here goes the list of the top five draft choices by Ron Rivera during his three seasons here in Washington (2020-22).
No. 5: Brian Robinson Jr., RB Alabama, 2022
No. 4: Benjamin St-Juste, CB, Minnesota, 2021
No. 3: James Smith-Williams, DE, NC State, 2020
No. 2 Antonio Gibson, RB, Memphis 2020
With the 66th pick in round 3 of the 2020 NFL draft, the Washington Redskins selected Antonio Gibson, running back, Memphis.
Gibson was drafted for his open-field abilities. He can be a dangerous receiver, darting runner, bruising runner, and kick returner as well.
Gibson carried the load in 2021 when he gained 1,037 yards, averaging 4.0 yards per carry, rushing for 7 touchdowns and 65 first downs. He also caught 42 passes for 294 yards, 3 receiving touchdowns and 12 receiving first downs.
This Antonio Gibson Touchdown was NOT talked about nearly enough on Sunday…. remember the McKissic wheel route the other week where he was caught from behind? Ya me too#DynoRB2 pic.twitter.com/ewxyEAWy4h
— ᴄᴏᴅʏ ᴄᴀʀᴘᴇɴᴛɪᴇʀ (@CarpentierNFL) September 29, 2021
Eric Bieniemy replaces Scott Turner as the offensive coordinator, and it is hard to imagine that Bieniemy will not want to get the ball to Gibson as a receiver much more than Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinicke found him in 2022 (46 receptions, 353 yards, 7.7 yards per reception, 2 receiving touchdowns).
Antonio Gibson waved GOODBYE on his way to a TOUCHDOWN!!!!#WASvsDAL #WashingtonFootball pic.twitter.com/tsnAJQFrs9
— Commanders Squad CLT (@CommandersCLT) November 27, 2020
Gibson also averaged 23.1 yards on his 21 kickoff returns in 2022. Gibson was clearly the best man on the team for the job. However, it is a real possibility that Bieniemy might like to have someone else handle the returns in 2023, so he can save Gibson for more open-field opportunities as a receiver out of the backfield.
In his three seasons, Gibson has accumulated 2,378 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns, 124 receptions, 894 receiving yards and 5 receiving touchdowns.