In their first preseason game last week, the Commanders faced off against the Panthers. While Washington fell just short of a win, fans got a good idea of what their offense may look like this upcoming season. One development to keep an eye on is that of the role Commander’s running back, Antonio Gibson, will play come week one.
Gibson’s Career Overview
Washington selected Gibson in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft. In his rookie season, the RB made quite the impact, recording over 1,000 scrimmage yards and eleven touchdowns. The impressive performance landed Gibson in 13th on end-of-season fantasy football rankings for the running back position. Gibson carried on his good play in year two, tallying 1,331 total yards and ten touchdowns. The massive improvement in yards helped Gibson advance to 12th in end-of-season fantasy rankings. However, throughout his 2021 campaign, Gibson fumbled the ball a staggering six times, raising questions around his ball security.
Expectations
During the Commander’s preseason matchup against the Panthers, Gibson again fumbled the ball on his second carry of the game. Following the drop, Gibson was quickly replaced by Washington’s rookie back, Brian Robinson. Like Gibson, Robinson was selected by the Commanders in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Robinson played 11 snaps with the team’s first string, where he scored a 1-yard rushing TD. Robinson’s professional debut should be especially notable to fantasy owners as he shared the field with the first string twice as much as Gibson. The decision to cycle Robinson in early on in the game might suggest the two will compete for carries in the regular season. If this is the case, we can expect Gibson’s fantasy value to take a dip.
Gibson is currently projected to go 9th-12th for the running back position in standard 12-team leagues. However, as we progress through the preseason, it’s important to monitor the load that Robinson is taking on for the Commanders. If what we saw against the Panthers becomes a pattern in Washington’s run game, expect Gibson to drop a few slots to the 10th-13th range.