Lions' running back room dissed just enough in CBS position ranking

Last season, David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs nearly became the seventh running back duo on the same team in NFL history to each rush for 1,000 yards in a season. GIbbs fell just short, a 945 yards, while Montgomery finished ninth in the league in rushing (1,015 yards). They both topped 1,000 yards from scrimmage, with Gibbs (1,261) topping Montgomery (1,132). They both had double-digit rushing touchdowns, 13 for Montgomery and 10 for Gibbs.

Quite simply, there may not be another team in the league with a better running back duo. Both are capable of being a lead back, but Gibbs and Montgomery complement each nicely. Gibbs may have the higher ceiling, but those who pay attention/analyze without bias know how good Montgomery is.

Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports, in a topic you'll find in May, has ranked every running back room in the NFL and put them into tiers. The Tier 1 "Throughbreds" are the San Francisco 49ers, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers. All four of those teams have a star and/or a clear workhorse back, though Josh Jacobs is obviously not in the same class as Christian McCaffrey, Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley.

Lions running back room dissed just a bit in CBS RB ranking

The Lions lead Tier 2, titled "Quality Depth", with the description of "This is a group that may not have the top-end star power as the group above but possesses plenty of depth to make them a formidable unit."

Specifically talking about the Lions, here's what Sullivan wrote.

"This is a group that may not have the top-end star power as the group above but possesses plenty of depth to make them a formidable unit. The Lions are knocking on the door of jumping up a tier with the combination of David Montgomery and rising second-year back Jahmyr Gibbs."

Montgomery is not a "top-end" star at the running back position. Gibbs could become one this year, but he's only going into his second year and isn't in that class just yet.

Still, if we compare the Lions' running back room to the top tier and to the tier Sullivan put them in, which do they belong in. Here are the running back rooms below Detroit in that second tier.

Miami Dolphins
Pittsburgh Steelers
New Orleans Saints
Jacksonville Jaguars

The Lions' running backs shouldn't be "knocking on the door of jumping up a tier" in this ranking. They should be in that top tier, and it's not really possible to argue otherwise.