Jahmyr Gibbs, who is due up for a massive extension from the Detroit Lions, has been present and practicing throughout their OTAs and mandatory minicamp.
The star running back is already poised for a massive year, being that head coach Dan Campbell said as much to reporters. And, it sounds like he's generally bought into the vision that the Lions' offense and new OC Drew Petzing have for the team this season.
ESPN's Eric Woodyard wrote that Gibbs said at the end of minicamp,
"The whole team is doing great. Like, we're so far (ahead) of where we were last year at this time. Everybody's playing fast. Everybody knows what to do. It feels like we're almost in season form."
He added, "He's smart. He's demanding of us, but he knows we can do it. He puts a lot on our plate, but like I said, he knows we can do it."
Gibbs sounds fully bought in to Lions' new-look offense
Gibbs should feast under Petzing's play calling, and behind a presumably stronger offensive line. He still managed to join the record books with Barry Sanders last season with the most rushing touchdowns scored before the age of 24, and posted 1,223 total rushing yards on the year, despite a down year from the entire team.
Petzing squeezed great rushing numbers out of the Arizona Cardinals when they were healthy, but yards were tough to come by because they suffered an unbelievable amount of injuries in both the running back room and on their offensive line.
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In-season form for minicamp is another great sign hinted at by Gibbs from this piece. Detroit had some minor turnover on their offense overall, but major shifts on their offensive line that could make or break their run game.
A left guard competition is already brewing as an attempt to rectify one part of their people-moving front, and their tackle room seems set beyond a small competition at right tackle. A new center should also go a long way towards helping their run game.
This should all help in the Lions' effort to generate a whole lot more offense on the ground this season, and that starts with Gibbs' ability to carry the brunt of that workload. He'd surely be moving even speedier than usual if handed a market-breaking extension prior to the season kicking off, but he already sounds quite committed without that deal.
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