The Detroit Lions were scrutinized for selecting running back Jahmyr Gibbs with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The high selection went against conventional wisdom, and the Alabama product joined a running back room that already featured D’Andre Swift and David Montgomery.
The consensus among the media was that Detroit overvalued the running back prospect. PFF called the selection a "below average" pick, CBS Sports gave the pick a D grade, SB Nation referred to it as a "major reach" and The Athletic called it an "odd move." The Lions, of course, disagreed.
Former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson had a clear vision for an offense powered by a diverse rushing attack. While Swift excelled in zone-blocking run schemes, he was subpar in gap scheme runs. Gibbs, on the other hand, thrived in both zone and gap schemes in Alabama’s spread offense. After just two years, Gibbs has silenced the critics.
Detroit split carries evenly between Montgomery and Gibbs, and the tandem helped lead the league’s most potent rushing attack during the 2024 season. Of the two running backs, Gibbs made a strong argument to take on an even larger role moving forward.
Jahmyr Gibbs joined elite list despite splitting carries in 2024
Gibbs became just the fourth running back in NFL history to record at least 1,500 rushing yards, 400 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns in a single season, per The 33rd Team. The other three running backs to accomplish the feat were Priest Holmes (2002, 2003), LaDainian Tomlinson (2006) and Christian McCaffrey (2023).
Holmes averaged 388.5 touches over two seasons, McCaffrey led the league with 339 touches in 2023 and Tomlinson tallied a whopping 404 touches during an MVP campaign. Yet, Gibbs reached those milestones with considerably fewer touches than his predecessors. He finished with 250 carries and 52 receptions for a total of 302 receptions, but he made the most of his opportunities with a staggering rate of 5.6 yards per carry and 9.9 yards per reception.
There has been a belief that Gibbs’ size could prevent him from being a true bell-cow running back, but the 23-year-old proved capable of handling a large workload, albeit in limited time. Gibbs was forced into the lead role after Montgomery suffered an MCL injury in Week 15, and he shined over the final three games of the regular season. During that span, Gibbs finished with 365 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns on 64 carries, while also adding 122 receiving yards and a score on 13 receptions.
Over a 17-game span, those figures would amount to 2,068 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns. That rate may not be sustainable, but Detroit could benefit from putting the ball in Gibbs’ hands more frequently.