Redskins acquire two of the biggest 2020 NFL Draft steals, according to college coaches
College coaches are more than impressed with the Redskins' draft haul
Ron Rivera and the Washington Redskins are coming off of a successful 2020 NFL Draft. While their class is headlined by former Ohio State pass rusher Chase Young, all eight players Washington selected have potential at the next level.
On Tuesday, Yahoo! Sports published a report about the top small-school steals in the NFL draft. They polled more than 120 college coaches and assistants from every league and tallied the votes from both the repetition of appearances and conviction of argument. Two Redskins draftees made the list -- including one prospect coaches considered the top steal of the draft.
The Redskins selected former Liberty wide receiver Antonio Gandy-Golden in the fourth round with the No. 142 pick -- and he was apparently a prospect several teams were monitoring as the draft wore on. According to Pete Thamel of Yahoo!, Gandy-Golden's praise came from every corner of the country.
"We still haven't covered him," said an unnamed college coach. "He has size, is physical and got off the line well. He ran a good variety of routes. He played really strong. I guess him falling that far is what you get from such a deep wide receiver group."
Gandy-Golden recorded over 1,000 receiving yards and 10 total touchdowns in his last three seasons at Liberty. He left the program as the all-time leader in catches with 240, receiving yards with 3,814 and receiving touchdowns with 33. He's got great size at 6-foot-4, 223 pounds and an absurd catch radius. There's a great chance he could end up being the wide receiver who will serve as a threat opposite of Terry McLaurin.
The Redskins had another big steal in the third round of the draft according to college coaches. Former Memphis wideout Antonio Gibson was considered the top steal in the AAC conference.
"Could do it all for them as a running back, receiver and a returner," an unnamed coach said. "He's explosive and legit fast, strong lower body. He was hard to bring down. He's one of the top returners we have seen."
Gibson was selected by the Redskins in the third round at pick No. 66 overall. In two seasons at Memphis, he caught 44 passes for 834 yards and 10 touchdowns, and rushed for 369 yards and four touchdowns on 33 carries. In his senior season, he returned 23 kicks for 645 yards and one touchdown -- averaging 28 yards per return.
What's intriguing about Gibson is that he's a big-play weapon who could play running back or wide receiver. Redskins vice president of player personnel Kyle Smith told reporters that he was a "Swiss army knife," which is exactly how Smith described McLaurin after drafting him in the third round last year.
"He's a Swiss army knife," Smith said, via the Redskins' official website. "You can use this guy in a lot of different ways, so it opens up a lot of options for our offense."
Coming from the Carolina Panthers, it's possible that Rivera sees Gibson as a Christian McCaffrey type of player -- someone who can make a major impact on both the ground and through the air.
"He's shown some position flexibility playing in the slot, then he shows position flexibility playing in the backfield," Rivera said. "[Memphis] ran some wildcat with him behind the center taking direct snaps. This is a very versatile, young football player that we really think is going to be a guy that can get on the field for us early and contribute."
















