Antonio Gibson Fantasy Outlook Offers Big Upside With Little Risk as 2020 Sleeper

When Antonio Gibson was drafted in the third round (No. 66 overall) by the Washington Football Team this past April, it made fantasy football owners begin to wonder if he will be the guy waiting in the wings to take over the starting running back spot.

The hype around him skyrocketed shortly after in May when his head coach Ron Rivera compared his abilities to that of Christian McCaffrey, who finished as the top fantasy RB last season. That's some high praise for a rookie.

The most intriguing aspect of Gibson's game is that at Memphis, he primarily played wide receiver while accumulating some carries as well. In his final season, he racked up 735 yards on 38 receptions to go with 369 yards on the ground on 33 carries. In those 14 games, he scored 12 total touchdowns and proved to be a versatile player able to line up anywhere in the offensive scheme.

Washington has a crowded backfield involving the likes of Peterson, Bryce Love, JD McKissic, and Peyton Barber, but there isn't a clear-cut starter. Peterson should retain the bulk of the carries on first and second downs as he has for the past two seasons, but the competition for a receiving threat out of the backfield seems wide open following Derrius Guice's release from the team.

Gibson is touted for his speed and agility, as he ran a 4.39 40-yard dash at the NFL combine, while his 228-pound frame suggests he can be a running back that pounds the ball up the middle. Gibson has seen some work with the first team in training camp so far and has produced some impressive plays.

Moving forward, Gibson seems to be the best bet among running backs to combine speed, power, and receiving to become and offensive threat, but it will take some time before that has any chance of happening. For now, he has a lot of upside as a young pass-catching RB that has potential to become so much more.

Currently being drafted as the No. 48 running back off the board, per FantasyPros average draft position (ADP) data, Gibson is a rookie sleeper to take a look at in the late rounds of fantasy football drafts. His skills combined with the situation in Washington could lead to some solid production, especially in PPR leagues.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.