Team news: New England Patriots | Page 34

In an interview with Josina Anderson, Adrian Peterson pointed out that rookie RB Antonio Gibson will be 'the guy' for Washington. "This system really fits him," Peterson told Anderson. "I feel like I can do that pony style too, more as a receiving back. We were all working on it, but they really want one main guy to do it and they drafted Gibson for it."

That rocket you see in the sky is Gibson's ADP rising after Peterson's conversation with Anderson. Gibson can flash as a pass catcher and could be league-winner if he figures out how to utilize his talent as a running back.

Antonio Gibson's official position as running back is nothing more than a formality. Offensive coordinator Scott Turner has experimented with the rookie all over the field in training camp. Gibson addressed the local media on Sunday, and the rookie explained he's thrilled by the different looks he's been getting in Turner's system.

"I’m actually loving it. This is probably the first time I’m not being limited to just doing a certain thing," Gibson said. "Usually it’s like, ‘Oh, he can do screens or jets and things like that.’ Here, he has me doing a lot. Power to receiver to jets to screens, all of that.

"It just makes it hard on the defense," Gibson continued. "I feel like I can help out the team there because it will always have guys confused."

Gibson gave a little hint about what he's been doing, which, is pretty much everything as the story said. Of course, we know by now how HC Ron Rivera has mentioned Gibson in the same breath as Christian McCaffrey so there is reason to be excited for potential fantasy owners.

“You can label Antonio Gibson as a running back, you can call him whatever you want,” Washington’s first-year OC Scott Turner said earlier this year. “But he played 80 percent of his snaps as a receiver in Memphis.”

So let’s delve into player comparisons. Many of the coaches on the Washington staff worked in Carolina last season. Would Christian McCaffrey be a comparable, at least stylistically?

“That’s fair,” Washington head coach Ron Rivera said excitedly on draft night. “He’s a little bit bigger than Christian, but he’s got a skill set like Christian.”

“He’s a Swiss army knife,” Washington VP of player personnel Kyle Smith said in April, shortly after Gibson’s selection in the third round. The team drafted Gibson as a running back, though he has spent time in the receiver room this summer, the story said, and played 80% of his snaps at WR in college. Gibson was never a high-volume player at Memphis and this year Washington may just take a simple approach with Gibson because of the pandemic and lack of time on the field. There is certainly a plan for Gibson but right now the team is mostly keeping that under wraps, the story said.

Adrian Peterson has been the starting running back for the duration of training camp, but third-round rookie Antonio Gibson has also received a fair amount of first-team reps.

Despite having just 33 career carries at Memphis, Gibson looks like a natural runner with a solid combination of speed and power. He also made a few receptions during Tuesday's session the story said. Peyton Barber has been receiving a lot of the second-team reps, while Bryce Love has also worked in with the twos as well as the threes. J.D. McKissic has worked with the starters and the reserves depending on formation.

If there were a best friend award for the first week-plus of camp workouts, it would go to Baker Mayfield and Austin Hooper. The new tight end has been Mayfield’s most frequent target in any competitive passing drill.

What's even better is Hooper is generally first in line for extra work with Mayfield when the special teams’ drills take over the primary practice field, the story said. Hooper is 14th on our TE list; he takes a hit due to switching teams. But maybe this chemistry formation will move him closer to the top by the end of the season.

Adrian Peterson, who has played with and through plenty of injuries over the years, avoided an ankle injury on Sunday.

“Everything is good,” Peterson told reporters. “My left ankle got kind of twisted up and caught. Thank God it came free. That little expression you heard was when it was tweaked and then came free. I was like, ‘Thank you Jesus.’ It could’ve been bad. But, yeah, I’m good.”

Related players: Bryce Love, Antonio Gibson

It's good news for AP, who is getting a little lost in the Washington RB talk lately with all the positive news about Love. Gibson, the rookie, is a hot name as well, and we think the back to own in this offense, but expect Peterson to get some work as well.

Rookie wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk clearly established himself among the top – if not the top – wide receiver on the field during the first week of 49ers camp.

But Aiyuk’s status for the short term now is tenuous due to a hamstring injury he sustained during practice on Sunday morning.

Related players: Kendrick Bourne, Deebo Samuel, Trent Taylor

The 49ers did not immediately provide an update on Aiyuk's status. Aiyuk and Bourne have established themselves as the top wide receivers with Taylor consistently playing in the slot. The 49ers hope to have Deebo Samuel back for the regular-season opener after he underwent surgery in June to repair a Jones fracture.

Through two days of open practice with the Washington Football Team, Bryce Love has certainly looked quite promising in individual drills and full-squad work. The offensive backfield still needs to be sorted out — Antonio Gibson is someone else who could be primed for a lot of usage now that Derrius Guice is gone — but as HC Ron Rivera described, Love could very well carve out a huge role right away.

"He's a guy that's multi-dimensional," Rivera continued. "At Stanford, he didn't have to do a lot of routes and pass catching, but he's very capable and we're getting to see that. This is a guy that could be an every-down back for you. He's an explosive, dynamic player."

Related players: Adrian Peterson, Peyton Barber

Even the story indicated it may be too much and too early to have all this love for Love. But he's certainly someone to watch. We continue to favor Gibson as the back to own on Washington. We rank Gibson 32nd among our RBs. Veterans like Peterson and Barber could see their share of early-season work until the younger players are up to speed.

Washington Football Team running back Bryce Love has not played in a real football game since December of 2018 when he tore his ACL in his final collegiate season at Stanford.

Nearly 20 months later, Love is healthy once again. In an exclusive interview with NBC Sports Washington's JP Finlay, offensive coordinator Scott Turner is excited to see what Love can bring to the table for the Burgundy and Gold.

"He's looking good. He's another guy we're going to throw in the mix and see how he does," Turner told Finlay. "I've been pleased with him."

Related players: J.D. McKissic, Adrian Peterson, Antonio Gibson, Peyton Barber

Twitter posts on Tuesday also pointed to Love looking good, especially running routes. It's unclear what Love's role could be this season and there are a lot of mouths in the backfield right now.

Antonio Gibson played receiver in college, however, he also aligned at running back and carried the ball 33 times last season for Memphis. Washington considers him a "Swiss Army Knife" player, able to align wide and run routes or to carry the ball. At 6-foot, 228 pounds, Gibson has good size. But he's also highly inexperienced at the position.

RB coach Randy Jordan said it'll take time for him to learn protections and to diagnose blitzes, which is obviously a big deal for rookie RBs. He's also sitting in on meetings with the receivers so it sounds like he has a lot on his plate. While it could take time, Gibson is the one who could fill the role they hoped Derrius Guice would after drafting him.