Washington's Antonio Gibson says his impressive rookie season 'wasn't that special,' but 2021 season will be

Gibson says the best is yet to come for him as a player

The offense of the Washington Football Team was not impressive in 2020, but the NFL world was introduced to a special playmaker in rookie running back Antonio Gibson. The wide receiver-turned-running back rushed for 795 yards and 11 touchdowns on 170 carries in 14 games played, but he thinks the best is yet to come.

During a recent interview with Tyler Dunne of "Go Long," Gibson said that he's heard the praise and the hype surrounding him, but he didn't even get to accomplish what he wanted to in his first NFL season.

"It wasn't that special to me," Gibson said. "I'm just touching the water. This year's going to be something special.

"This year is going to be something special."

Dunne then asked Gibson if he was talking about a campaign similar to the ones stars like Alvin Kamara and Christian McCaffrey had early on in their careers. Gibson responded saying, "Definitely," and also threw Le'Veon Bell's 2016 campaign in as well. 

When Gibson was drafted by Washington, many anticipated he would be the versatile receiving back who could make plays on third down. Instead, the opposite happened, as he was the primary running back on first and second down while J.D. McKissic was Washington's receiving back. The former Detroit Lion was targeted a whopping 110 times in the passing game last year, and caught 80 balls for 589 yards and two touchdowns. Gibson caught 36 passes for 247 yards last year, but those figures are likely to improve in 2021.

Gibson suffered a turf toe injury that hampered him late in the year, but he is now fully recovered. Washington head coach Ron Rivera had a hand in turning McCaffrey into one of the best backs in the league during his tenure with the Carolina Panthers, maybe he can do it again. This week, CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora even tabbed Gibson as the player who could shift the balance of power in the NFC East this season. Check out his article, here. 

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