In his sophomore year with the Commanders, Antonio Gibson gained 1,331 combined yards with 10 scores and 42 catches on 300 touches in his 16 games. However, he missed Week 17 with COVID-19. On the downside, Gibson gained only 4.0 yards per carry, with four of his 258 rushes gaining 20 yards or more. Washington gave him a high-volume opportunity (23.4 touches per game) in seven of his final eight starts, leading to 687 yards with five touchdowns and 23 catches. His only two games with over 100 yards rushing came in Week 12 (29/111 with seven catches for 35 yards) and Week 18 (21/146/1 with one catch for five yards).
With J.D. McKissic injured over the final seven weeks, Gibson had three games with more pass-catching chances (7/35, 5/23/1, 6/39). He had three catches or fewer from Weeks 2-11.
Fantasy outlook: Last year, the Commanders' coaching staff suggested that they wanted to give Gibson a high-volume opportunity somewhat in line with Christian McCaffrey. Unfortunately, he only had two games with more than 68% of the team’s running back snaps. His ADP (43) in the NFFC in the early draft season ranks him as the 21st running back selected. In 2021, Gibson finished 10th in running back scoring (233.10) in PPR formats. He checks the three needed boxes (high volume runner, pass-catching and scoring) to be a foundation RB1 in 2022. I don’t fear McKissic or Brian Robinson, pointing to a 325-touch season with 1,600 combined yards, double-digit scores and 50 catches. When the rankings come out in July, Gibson will rank in the top 10.
