Antonio Gibson Overview
Position: Wide Receiver/Running Back
Height: 6’-0”
Weight: 228 pounds
School: Memphis
NFL Combine Performance Data
40-Yard Dash: 4.39 seconds
Vertical Jump: 35.0”
Broad Jump: 118.0”
Bench Press: 16 reps
Antonio Gibson 2020 NFL Draft Profile
After spending the majority of the 2018 season riding the bench, running back/wide receiver Antonio Gibson finally earned a complementary role in the Memphis offense. The Georgia native never received a full workload when on the field, but he had a knack for making special things happen whenever he touched the ball. As a runner, Gibson recorded 369 rushing yards and four touchdowns on just 33 attempts for a gaudy 11.2 yards-per-attempt. He was more than just a rushing threat, as Gibson also added another 38 receptions on 58 targets for 735 yards.
Antonio Gibson struggled to receive much interest coming out of high school. A two-way player, the Georgia native managed to record 3,132 all-purpose yards and 32 touchdowns throughout his high school career. After spending two years at the JUCO level, Gibson finally made his way to Memphis in 2018. Unfortunately, Gibson hardly saw the field, recording just six receptions on 10 targets for 99 yards.
Strengths
- Threat as a runner and a receiver;
- Elusive runner that racks up broken tackles in the open field;
- Quick acceleration and doesn’t slow down when coming out of cuts;
- Touchdown machine – 14 touchdown on 77 touches and seven touchdowns of 40+ yards;
- Can immediately contribute on special teams;
- Dynamic player with the explosiveness to make a big play every time he touches the ball.
Weaknesses
- Only saw the field during his final season;
- Small sample on which to judge his performance;
- Objectively bad route runner that won’t succeed as a traditional receiver;
- Needs to be schemed into the open field;
- Makes body catches instead of trusting his hands.
NFL Comparison: Denard Robinson
Teams With Need at Position: Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, New England Patriots, New York Jets
Projection: 4th round
Bottom Line on Antonio Gibson
Antonio Gibson is a fascinating athlete that’s going to struggle to find a position in the NFL. The Memphis product is one of the most electric players in the entire draft, as evidenced by his absurd touchdown rate and just by watching his tape. He can make plays in the passing and running game, never goes down at first contact, and typically makes his man miss in space. He definitely has an NFL-caliber toolset, the only question is if a coaching staff can iron out the rest of his game.
For being so quick on his feet, Gibson is surprisingly bad at running routes. Some of this may have to do with his relative inexperience, but he has a long way to go before he’s ready to contribute as an actual receiver. Chances are, Gibson is going to start off as a pass-catching running back and do most of his damage in the underneath part of the field. However, if he can be schemed into space, he’ll be dangerous. There is a chance that Gibson never quite puts it all together, but if he does he can develop into a valuable running back in name only type of player like James White.
Main photo:
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