Antonio Gibson’s hot start to his career puts him in some elite company

A list of rookie RBs since 2000 who’ve had 10+ rushing TDs through the first 12 weeks of the season

LaDainian Tomlinson
Ezekiel Elliott
Antonio Gibson

End list
(h/t @CPatrickNFL) pic.twitter.com/RbfeTwJfFz

— Washington Football Team (@WashingtonNFL) December 5, 2020

LaDainian Tomlinson, Ezekiel Elliott, and Antonio Gibson.

Those are the only three players in NFL history to have more than 10 rushing touchdowns through the first 12 weeks of their rookie season. Pretty impressive, no?

When you consider the fact that Tomlinson, a Hall of Famer, was drafted No. 5 overall in the 2001 draft, and Elliott was taken No. 4 overall in 2016, I’d say that Washington’s rookie is outperforming expectations. Gibson was taken No. 66 overall in 2020; in the famous words of LeBron James, he ‘shouldn’t even be here.’

Except, the rookie has made it incredibly clear this season that he absolutely belongs in the NFL as a running back. There were questions about his viability coming out of college, with many wondering if he would be able to adapt to an RB role after playing with such position-fluidity at Memphis. He famously had a total of 33 carries (!) as an RB in college, but Washington trusted that they could complete the conversion.

Right they were. So far, through 11 games of his career, Gibson has 11 touchdowns — two shy of Alfred Morris’ franchise rookie record — to go along with 645 rushing yards, and 233 receiving yards. It’s clear that Washington found someone who can be their feature back for years to come, and with coach Ron Rivera’s recent comparisons between Gibson and the great Arian Foster, there’s a sense that the ceiling for this rookie is a bit unrealized at the moment. He continues to learn, he continues to grow, and he impresses us week after week.

We’ve yet to find a limit for what he can do, but at this point, we’re just going to enjoy every step of the ride.