Running back Antonio Gibson gained a worthy admirer with his brilliant rookie season for the Washington Football Team.
"He showed everything that I would want in a feature back," former All-Pro running back Brian Westbrook told 106.7 The Fan's JP Finlay and Brian Mitchell on Thursday.
"I thought he had a really good rookie season," he said. "You've certainly got to stay healthy, but I thought what he was able to show, his ability to run all the plays. I'm talking about inside zone, outside zone, toss, sweep as well, and then be able to catch the ball out of the backfield."
That's high praise coming from Westbrook, who made a living torching Washington and the rest of the NFC East, as a revolutionary dual threat back that was as much of a weapon in the Eagles' passing game as he was in their rushing attack. In 13 career games against Washington, he had the equivalent of a great regular season, racking up 1,268 total yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns. He finished his NFL career with 10,275 total yards and 71 touchdowns over nine seasons (eight with Philly).
Gibson flashed some dual threat potential in his own right in 2020, showing why Washington felt they had a steal when selecting him in the third round out of Memphis. The most promising rookie back in Washington since Alfred Morris debuted in 2012, Gibson gathered 1,042 total yards — on 795 yards rushing and 247 yards receiving — with 11 total touchdowns in 2020. A potent target out of the backfield, he averaged 6.9 yards per catch on 36 receptions.
"In today's day and age, you have to have a guy that can help you in the run game, but is also certainly effective in the pass game," said Westbrook. "And [Gibson] showed all of that throughout his rookie year. To me, he was one of the best rookies that I saw all season long.
"Again, you've got to stay healthy, that's part of it, but as your body — you grow into your grown-up man body — I think he'll be absolutely fine."
