The Detroit Lions made a shocking selection by taking Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs with the 12th overall pick. They made the selection after trading down from the sixth overall pick and acquired a second-round pick at 34th overall from the Arizona Cardinals.
While the trade was good value as there will still be plenty of good players available at 34th overall, the selection of Jahmyr Gibbs was unexpected.
Gibbs is a talented player, but in today’s NFL, you have to be special to be worth a first-round pick as a running back. This certainly signifies that Dan Campbell and company are committed to utilizing Gibbs as a runner and a receiver in the offense next year and beyond. So, let’s break down Gibbs’ game and the skill set he’ll bring to the offense.
Brad Holmes almost breaks the table in excitement as he and Dan Campbell are glad to draft the versatile, explosive Jahmyr Gibbs #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/51bsgVqsMb
— Andrew Jones (@TWDTV1) April 28, 2023
How Jahmyr Gibbs Fits the Detroit Lions
Receiving Ability
The biggest selling point for Gibbs is his abilities as a receiver coming out of the backfield. In his three seasons in college football for Georgia Tech and Alabama, Gibbs finished in the top ten in receiving yards for running backs in all three seasons.
Gibbs not only has very good hands, as he only has two career drops but he is very elusive with the ball in his hands after the catch. The Detroit Lions will look to get Gibbs the ball in his hands in open space as much as they can.
You can debate the value of drafting a running back at 12 all day long, but at the end of the day, Gibbs and the Lions are a match made in heaven in this regard. Outside of Bijan Robinson, Gibbs is probably the best receiving back in this class, and Detroit’s system excels at getting the ball to the running back. Jared Goff has a penchant for checking down when his first read is covered, and Ben Johnson is one of the more creative offensive minds in football.
Elusiveness
As I just discussed, another strong point of Gibbs’ game is elusiveness. His ability to change speeds is amongst the best of any running back in this class making him very hard for defenders to get their hands on him.
This was on display when he caught a pass in the flat against Tennessee and slowed down almost coming to a stop before exploding down the sideline, causing defenders to take bad angles to tackle him for a good gain. This skill will translate to the NFL, and is yet another reason why he’s a perfect fit for the Ben Johson offense.
Open Field Speed/ Big Play Ability
Gibbs is a home run hitter type of back as he is one of the fastest running backs in this class. He had 12 plays of 40+ yards in his college career and those big plays will be needed for him to prove that he was worthy of being the 12th overall pick.
With opposing defenses focusing on Amon-Ra St Brown, Gibbs should be able to take advantage of mismatches and blow past defenders with ease. Basically, Jahmyr Gibbs is everything the Lions thought they were getting with D’Andre Swift.
Main Photo: Gary Cosby Jr – USA Today Sports
