Brad Holmes on Jahmyr Gibbs: 'He's a Weapon'
The Detroit Lions believe running back Jahmyr Gibbs will add a special dimension to the offense.
General manager Brad Holmes, appearing on "The Season with Peter Schrager," shared why the team wanted to select the former Crimson Tide running back.
Detroit's third-year personnel leader explained that the 2023 NFL Draft did not have the typical amount of first-round talent that is normally seen, so the organization wanted to select the best fit for its roster.
"I saw his body type, and like, this guy was intriguing. I kind of saw what he was doing in both phases," said Holmes. "Yeah, I mean, he can run it, but what he was doing as a receiver and the explosiveness and everything about him, and we just kept doing work on him. And like I said, you kind of do some draft prep during the season and kept doing work on him, and that was just kind of it for me. I was like, 'This guy is, he's a weapon. He's a weapon.' When you talk about all the running backs going in the first round and all that kind of stuff, I always say, if he's a weapon, then forget the running back position."
The organization felt after doing all its scouting and film study that the talented running back would add a special element to the offense: explosiveness. And, the Lions believed that could not be passed up, especially given how successful Ben Johnson was in 2022 leading the unit.
"We thought he was a multi-phase elite, explosive, positionless weapon. And you know, he was a special player. You know, you have some you have to combine that confirms some things, you know. He ran what I thought he was going to run and all the testing and his workouts -- we're just really excited about him," said Holmes. "And, I think we're going to, he's going to bring another dimension to our offense that's as good as we were offensively last year. I think it's going to be even better this year. But, bottom line, you just got to get the guys that you want."
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