As an influx of young talent flows into Washington, strengthening both the offensive and defensive end, Washington is now well equipped to make improvements from their past deficiencies in the 2021 NFL season.
While all of the incoming players must prove their worth and work for their respective spot in the lineup, I will be focusing on a player who had a solid rookie year at the running back position. That player is Antonio Gibson, second year player out of Memphis, who will heavily impact Washington's success on offense this year, for better or worse.
As a fan of Washington, there have been years where the offense was loaded, but the production just wasn't there when it mattered most. Take the 2016 season as an example. Desean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, and Jamison Crowder were Washington's go-to guys on offense. In addition, Washington had one of the best tight ends in the league at the time (Jordan Reed). With Kirk Cousins at the helm, this team was only able to muster an 8-7-1 record, not making it to the playoffs. Now don't get the wrong idea, they put up big numbers through the air. Cousins threw for almost 5,000 passing yards, completing 25 touchdown passes in the process. However, in a win-or-go-home game against their division rivals (New York Giants), Washington only scored 10 points. A large part of this has to do with the lackluster run game during that season. Washington's leading rusher (Rob Kelley), only had 704 rushing yards that entire season. Whether that was the issue, or poor quarterback play, the lack of a potent run game clearly plagued Washington's ability to win games in the 2016 season.
I am predicting that Gibson will step up in a big way this season, rushing for just under 1,000 yards, but also contributing in the pass game, with around 400 yards receiving.
