Before April's draft, there were rumors some teams liked Jahmyr Gibbs more than the widely-regarded top running back in the draft Bijan Robinson. The Detroit Lions appeared to be on that list, as they let it out they would have taken Gibbs at No. 6 overall if they had stayed there and not traded down to No. 12 to wind up taking him there. Robinson of course went to the Atlanta Falcons at No. 8 overall.
On Peter Schrager's podcast this offseason, general manager Brad Holmes called Gibbs a "position-less weapon" and put the rookie in an elite class of offensive weapons.
On Monday morning, head coach Dan Campbell was asked why Gibbs was the Lions' guy in the draft and how the team feels about him now after working with him for a few months.
Dan Campbell talks about why Lions liked Jahmyr Gibbs over Bijan Robinson in the draft
Here's what Campbell said.
"Certainly like both of those guys, you know, we liked Bijan too man." Campbell said. "But we just really felt like with where we were at, we got D-Mo (David Montgomery) here. And we just felt like with Gibbs there, man, he fit what we needed perfectly and I just think it's rare to have a guy that you really feel like, in due time can be dynamic in the run and the pass game as a halfback. I just think there's so much versatility with him. So between that he fits what we do perfectly and he's just he has that potential to be dynamic in both areas of you know, the offensive side of the football."
"We just felt like with Gibbs, he fit what we needed perfectly."
— Kory E. Woods (@KoryEWoods) September 11, 2023
Dan Campbell on the decision to take Jahmyr Gibbs over Bijan Robinson.
Robinson is versatile like Gibbs, as he showed in his NFL debut on Sunday. But he also profiles as a workhorse back, which the Lions didn't necessarily need after signing David Montgomery. So maybe Gibbs was/is a more ideal fit.
In Week 3, the Falcons will pay a visit to Ford Field. So the first two running backs drafted this year will be on display.