The most astute NFL talent evaluators will tell you that when it comes to players, it’s more important to focus on what people can do as opposed to what they can’t. I’ve heard it from both Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll, and also from Seahawks general manager John Schneider, Carroll’s consigliere. It’s easy to discount a receiver because he only ran three routes in college, or a running back because he runs too upright and might not be fully developed.

But those truly interested in player development will understand that sometimes, that receiver who can run a third of the route tree is beating the daylights out of every cornerback he faces, or that running back is bouncing off linebackers every play for extra yards.

With players on the fringe of what they will be, you can either cut them off because they don’t fit your suit, or you can adjust the suit for their unique talents. The guys who do the latter tend to win Super Bowls. The guys who do the former tend to get fired.

In the 2020 draft class, Memphis running back/receiver Antonio Gibson (yes, you read that positional delineation right) may be the ultimate litmus test for those executives who see prospects one way or another. Gibson got on the field for just 370 snaps in two years with the Tigers after two seasons at East Central Community College in Mississippi.

“Grades were just … at the end of the day, you could also blame me to be honest, but as a young kid, I was getting bad grades and my coaches weren’t really saying anything to me because they wanted me to play,” Gibson told me recently. “It wasn’t until my junior year I started getting offers but I couldn’t accept them, or they couldn’t officially offer them because of my grades. So, that’s when it started clicking to me that I need this [college], and that’s the reason I had to go to JUCO route.”

When he was done with that route, he had to choose between scholarship offers from West Virginia, Mississippi State and Memphis.

“I picked Memphis because a lot of schools offer you then go on about their business,” he said. “They won’t really reach out to you to tell you a signing date, but coach [Mike] Norvell and the staff were on me every other day. They were checking in making sure I was all right, seeing if classes were going good, checking on my family. I got a family feeling from them, and when I went on my visit it was the same thing, so I ended up picking Memphis.”

It took a while for Gibson to gain traction, though — in 2018, he was behind Darrell Henderson and Tony Pollard in the Tigers’ backfield and caught just six passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns. After Henderson went to the Rams and Pollard to the Cowboys in the 2019 draft, Gibson got his shot, and he didn’t waste it. He posted 38 catches for 735 yards and eight touchdowns, adding 33 carries for 369 yards and four more scores.

Yes, that’s right. Gibson averaged 11.2 yards per carry. Moreover, he proved to be absolutely ridiculous when it came to breaking tackles. He broke 16 tackles on his 33 carries and 17 tackles on his 38 receptions, according to Pro Football Focus. Small sample size, yes, but those numbers are just insane when a broken tackle rate of 25% is shooting par. And as crazy as the numbers are, Gibson’s 2019 game tape is even more preposterous. That, and what it says about his NFL potential, was my focus when I talked with him recently.

“It’s just the excitement of it,” he told me in regard to his mentality when eluding defenders by any means necessary. “I love the game, and when the offense has the ball, you can make things happen. You can bring momentum to the team. That’s what I strive for. Being able to lead by example. Bring that factor in the game, where if you do something like that, you get the sideline hyped, and you get a chain reaction from that. I fell in love with it, and it’s always been that way for me.”

I told Gibson about those PFF numbers and asked him how he’s able to make above-average college defenders look like Pony League kids as they’re bouncing off his frame.

“My body size,” the 6-foot-0, 228-pound Gibson said. “Most people my size don’t move as fast — and I’m not saying everybody — because I’m seeing plenty move faster or fast. It’s just the size and what I’m able to do. I feel like you could line me up with skinny receivers, and I would be able to make the same moves or run just as fast as them. I feel like people don’t know how to adjust sometimes to seeing that speed and a big body, you know, to make cuts like that. So when they try to come to my legs, or they come to me with the arm tackle … if you come to me with some little boy stuff, you know I’m looking to break it.”

A few more questions before we got to the tape.

Doug Farrar: The running back/receiver thing is so interesting because the pro comparison I made for you was if you took DK Metcalf and also made him a running back — which doesn’t generally happen. Do you have a preference? How do you balance the two different positions?

Antonio Gibson: I don’t have a preference, but I’ve been getting that question a lot. I feel more comfortable at receiver, just because that’s where I’ve been. But I feel more natural at running back. Once I get in the flow of things, I could be great back there, too. Running back is my preference at that next level because they could move me out [wide], and that’s where the league is going nowadays, moving guys around all over the place.

DF: What were your route concepts in college, and what are you coming into the NFL with in that sense?

AG: We were running digs, posts, comebacks, curls, option routes. We had a lot, but I feel like there’s more routes in the league that I hadn’t experienced. That’ll be some getting used to. I’ve been working with a trainer, and he was doing some awesome things [with different routes]. I have an idea of some of the routes [he’d run in the NFL], but there are some other things I’ve got to get accustomed to.

And with that, it was time to review five of Gibson’s plays from last season. If you haven’t seen this guy yet, buckle up.