Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes was busy this offseason. After watching his team go 9-8 in 2022, he knew the task that lay ahead; upgrading the roster to enable the team to take that next step.
Multiple positions on the roster were revamped in an effort to accomplish that. The secondary, which struggled in 2022, has plenty of new faces. Cameron Sutton and Emmanuel Moseley were signed in free agency to bolster the cornerback position while C.J. Gardner-Johnson inked a deal to help at safety.
Another position that was overhauled was running back. Jamaal Williams departed in free agency, signing a deal with the New Orleans Saints. He was replaced by former Chicago Bears running back David Montgomery. D’Andre Swift was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2023 NFL Draft after the Lions shocked everyone with their first-round pick.
With the No. 12 overall pick, the Lions selected Alabama running back Jahymr Gibbs. It was a selection many people disagreed with, but Holmes doesn’t care about outside noise. When making an appearance on The Season with Peter Schrager podcast, Holmes shared that he believes moves, such as adding Gibbs, will fit what the team wants to do on that side of the ball.
“When you look at it systematically, I do think we’ll be better offensively,” he said. “That’s no knock on the contributions that those other two guys gave us. Swift is a dynamic player and Jamaal was a great leader for us, and he did so much for us. He had a great season. But I think Montgomery and Jamaal are different backs. Montgomery does a little bit more in the passing game. And being able to add Gibbs, he’s just so dynamic as a receiver. Look, he’s a home run hitter as a running back, that’s the easy part. What he does as a receiver — he runs routes like a receiver.” (H/T Kevin Patra of NFL.com)
The Lions have been adamant since selecting Gibbs that he will not be shoe-horned into strictly the running back position. It is partly why they are not worried about the positional value many people have harped on about selecting a running back as high as they did.
Instead, Holmes views Gibbs as a do-it-all weapon that can be deployed anywhere offensively. While some would describe him as a scatback, the Lions’ general manager has much loftier goals, comparing Gibbs to two of the best running backs to ever grace the NFL.
“When I first got with the Rams in 2003, Marshall Faulk was still there, and I was a huge Marshall Faulk guy — just kind of seeing what he does in both phases,” Holmes said. “And just from a scouting standpoint, when Christian McCaffrey came out, he was the last guy that I was like, ‘Holy cow, this guy can run routes like a slot receiver but also run it.’ So, you start getting reminders of those players. I’m not sitting here saying Jahmyr Gibbs is those players, but (he’s) just a special weapon like that. We have a lot of excitement and optimism.”
That is some high praise for Gibbs, who sounds like he will be involved early and often in the Lions’ game plan offensively. If he gets even remotely close to producing like Marshall Faulk and Christian McCaffrey, no one is going to care at what spot Detroit selected Gibbs.
