Film Study – WR / RB Antonio Gibson
May 13, 2020
by Steve Thomas
Welcome to the second edition of my 2020 film study series. Last week, I did undrafted rookie free agent tight end Thaddeus Moss (click here to read). This week, I’m going to delve into the realm of the drafted and take a look at the Redskins’ third round pick, wide receiver / running back Antonio Gibson from the University of Memphis.
Background
Gibson hails from Stockbridge, Georgia, and spent two years at East Central Community College before transferring to Memphis for the 2018 and 2019 seasons. In total, he played 19 games for the Tigers, with 33 carries for 369 yards, an average of 11.2 yards per carry, and 4 touchdowns. He also had 44 receptions for 834 yards, for an average of 19.0 yards per reception, and an additional 10 touchdowns. In 2019, Gibson played 14 games, with all 33 of his carries coming last season, plus 38 receptions for 735 yards. Gibson was also Memphis’ primary kick returner, with 23 returns for 645 yards and 1 touchdown and was named the AAC’s Special Teams Player of the Year in 2019.
At the NFL Combine, Gibson was measured at 6’0” and 228 pounds. He ran the 40 yard dash in an unofficial 4.39 seconds, posted 16 bench press reps at 225 pounds, and jumped 35 inches in the vertical leap and 9’10” in the standing broad jump.
Film Analysis
Games studied: Memphis vs. Penn St., SMU, and Navy
As I always say in these film studies, I am not a professional scout. I’m just a knowledgeable podcast host whose social life consists mainly of breaking down game film at home, so you’re forewarned. Take my observations for what you will. #notascout.
Head coach Ron Rivera has indicated on multiple occasions that he sees similarities between Gibson and his former running back at Carolina, do-everything star Christian McCaffrey, so it appears as though he and offensive coordinator Scott Turner intend to use Gibson in the same type of varied offensive role. His film from Memphis certainly leads one to think that Gibson might be the perfect fit.
Gibson has explosive, big play potential
The obvious calling card for Gibson is his ability to be a breakaway threat at any time. That reputation was born at the University of Memphis, although to be fair some of his bigger plays were partially a function of facing subpar defenses. Regardless, Gibson is a constant big time threat. Check out this series of plays:
The first play is from the SMU game. Gibson is in the slot on the left side, and runs an out and up against man coverage with no safety help. He doesn’t do anything special in his route; the corner is just a touch late in rotating his hips, and that’s all Gibson needed. Touchdown. In the second play, against Navy, Memphis has trips right, with Gibson in the middle position. He runs a simple post pattern against man coverage, but the defensive back turns the wrong way when Gibson makes his break, and once again, that’s all Gibson and his 4.39 speed needs to score an uncontested touchdown. The third play, from the Cotton Bowl against Penn St., isn’t a touchdown but it’s still a good example of what Gibson can accomplish. Memphis has trips left, and Gibson takes a simple flat pass and evades at least three defenders to turn it into a 15 yard gain. The next play is another flat pass to the left against Penn St., and this time Gibson finds a small crease an explodes for a 35 yard gain. Finally, the last play, from the SMU game, shows Gibson as a running back. He is able to take the handoff, find a seam and quickly reach the second level. Obviously, these plays represent the best part of his game and shows the kind of pressure Gibson can put on a defense if he’s given half a chance.
Hands
Antonio Gandy-Golden isn’t the only Redskins rookie who is capable of amazing catches. Despite being raw and inexperienced as a receiver, Gibson has great hands. I couldn’t find an example of Gibson dropping a pass that he should have had. He tracks the ball in the air very well and is agile and flexible enough to adjust his body in the air to enable himself to come down with a ball that lacks perfect placement. Watch this series of catches:
In particular, pay attention to the replay in the second play from the SMU game. The ball is thrown behind him, but Gibson is still able to adjust to the ball in the middle of his leap. The first play from the Navy game shows Gibson’s ability to high point the ball in traffic. The third and final play from the SMU game doesn’t look spectacular, but it’s a good example of Gibson making a contested catch near the sideline with the defender draped on top of him.
Route Running
Gibson didn’t necessarily run the full route tree at Memphis. When he’s lined up as a receiver, he is normally found in the slot, although as you saw above, when Memphis went to their trips formation, he was usually but not always the middle receiver. In the earlier “explosive play” clips, I showed you an out and up, a deep post, and a flat pass. These next set of clips shows, in order, a vertical route (i.e., a 9 route on the route tree), another example of a flat pass (which Gibson ran quite a bit), and either a slant or post (it’s hard to tell from film view available to me; sorry):
You’ll also see an example of a square in route below, but that wasn’t a very common route for him. Part of the reason that Gibson’s route requirements were fairly limited is due to Gibson’s role as a slot receiver in a spread offense. But the other issue is that he’s simply an inexperienced receiver who wasn’t even a full-time starter at the position – the 2019 Tigers had many different talented players who constantly rotated in and out of the game. That isn’t to say that Gibson isn’t capable of running a wider variety of routes; it’s just something he’ll have to practice and learn.
The larger issue is that Gibson’s route running is very simplistic. This isn’t a fully-formed Larry Fitzgerald. His footwork and moves are not advanced by NFL standards and his cuts are oftentimes not very sharp. I suspect that pro defensive backs won’t be so easily fooled as were the Navy and SMU players. Check out these plays:
In the first play from the Penn St. game, Gibson is in the slot on the left side and runs a shallow square in route. The play goes the other way, so there was no harm done here, but notice how badly he rounds off his pattern. The same thing happens in the second play, also against Penn St. This time, he runs what looks like it was supposed to be a shallow square out, but it is again badly rounded off. If this was supposed to be a slant, it was even worse. The third clip is also from the Penn St. game. Gibson is on the right side in the slot. He does some sort of bizarre hopping / skipping move immediately after the snap that fools no one. His inside break also isn’t sharp (it’s a bit hard to see) and the play results in an interception. Finally, in the last play, Gibson is in the slot on the left side and runs a simple vertical route. The quarterback throws to the right side of the field, so Gibson wasn’t involved, but he makes no real effort to fool the corner at all, and just runs straight down the field. None of these things are the end of the world, particularly the fly route at the end, but they just show some of the areas in which Gibson will need improve as a professional.
Running back talent
We’ve all heard about Gibson’s ability to serve as a dual threat “weapon” in the mold of Christian McCaffrey, and that is true – Gibson has talent and found success as a running back at Memphis, although in the three games I studied he served as a receiver far more often. While Memphis played out of the spread almost exclusively, they did on rare occasion line up in a power I formation, but never with Gibson as the tailback. In these three games, he exclusively took his handoffs out of the spread, lined up parallel to quarterback in the shotgun. Check out these plays:
All three of these plays (one versus SMU and two versus Penn St.) are roughly the same. Gibson isn’t overly elusive like Barry Sanders, but what he does have is significant speed and acceleration. He hunts for a hole for a split second, and once he sees his opportunity, then makes his cut and bursts through. I think Gibson would be a great option in a zone scheme, but he didn’t give an indication that he is an every down back in a power scheme.
Kickoff returns
One thing Gibson does at an elite level is kickoff returns. Special teams, in general, is a big emphasis at Memphis, and it was obvious on film that his collegiate experience drilled this into him. Watch these clips:
These plays don’t really need detailed breakdowns – the first is a 97 yard touchdown. Gibson has so much speed, and has so much burst, that if he gets a crease in the defense, he can quickly turn in a great return. The Redskins already have a quality kickoff returner in the form of Steven Sims, Jr., so Gibson and Sims will either battle it out for the starting role or perhaps even share the field.
Conclusions
Gibson described himself to the Redskins media after the draft as a “weapon”, and that’s an accurate way to view what he did at Memphis. He has all of the natural ability in the world, particularly speed, acceleration, and great hands, but his inexperience and limited versatility as a receiver, in particular, will probably hold him back in the early party of his career. Also, it shouldn’t go unsaid that the level of competition Memphis faced wasn’t the top of the college football heap and probably allowed him more opportunities to break big plays than he will probably get in the NFL. Overall, though, I think Gibson has the ability to become a danger threat for the Redskins, even if it takes him a year or two in order to maximize his talents.