Antonio Gangy-Golden was a fourth-round pick of the Washington Football Team out of Liberty University back in the 2020 NFL draft.
In his final three seasons at Liberty, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Gandy-Golden recorded three 1,000-yard seasons. Gandy-Golden finished with 231 receptions, 3,722 yards, and 32 touchdowns in his college career. Gandy-Golden averaged an impressive 16.2 yards per reception for his college career.
When Gandy-Golden came to Washington, head coach Ron Rivera and his staff believed the rookie wideout could make an immediate impact. Unfortunately, his rookie season was interrupted by a hamstring injury that saw him spend two months on injured reserve.
Gandy-Golden was cut ahead of the 2021 season, but Washington quickly re-signed him to its practice squad. He was activated for the game against New Orleans last season but mostly spent his time on the practice squad. He signed a reserve futures contract with the Commanders in January.
Now, Gandy-Golden is trying a new position. According to John Keim of ESPN, the rising third-year pass-catcher will now try to make Washington’s roster as a tight end.
In a recent episode of the “John Keim Report” podcast, Keim said Washington was moving Gandy-Golden to tight end, and this was a move that was in the works since the offseason began. The Commanders first wanted to make sure Gandy-Golden was on-board with the move, which he appears to be.
— John Keim (@john_keim) May 22, 2022
Keim noted that the people he has talked to said Gandy-Golden has been “noticeably bulked up, looks bigger, looks stronger.” Keim noted that Washington felt Gandy-Golden could add some size without sacrificing his speed.
Both tight end and wide receiver have become crowded positions of late. At tight end, the Commanders have starter Logan Thomas — rehabbing from a December knee injury, John Bates and Sammis Reyes — both entering their second year — and rookie Cole Turner. It’s unclear if Thomas will be ready for Week 1 and if he is, will the Commanders keep four tight ends?
Gandy-Golden faces an uphill battle to make Washington’s roster, but if he can show promise this summer, perhaps he can earn a spot on the practice squad. This will be a critical summer for Gandy-Golden.