When former Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs peered down at his phone and saw a number calling from Detroit, Michigan, he was excited and relieved.
Around friends and family who he said helped him through the journey to becoming an NFL player, Gibbs watched NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell say his name when announcing the No. 12 picks in the NFL Draft. While he felt that release of anxiety when his name was finally called, Gibbs told the Twentyman in the Huddle podcast, that he had a feeling the Lions would select him.
“I thought there was a possibility that they could pick me,” Gibbs said. “But I didn’t think it was going to be at No. 12.”
What at the time seemed like a bold move for the Lions to take Alabama’s leading rusher that high, Lions General Manager Brad Holmes had his sights set on Gibbs early last season. Holmes told the Twentyman in the Huddle podcast that Gibbs’ performance against Texas really put him on Holmes’ radar.
On a nationally televised stage, Gibbs was the star performer in Alabama’s 20-19 win. He was limited to nine carries and 22 yards on the ground, but the Dalton, Georgia native showed why he was such a versatile running back for his entire collegiate career, tallying a team-high nine receptions for 74 yards and a touchdown.
“It was really fun,” Gibbs said when asked about his performance in Austin. “It was like my first big college game. It was a great day. We won and came out with the ‘W.’ It was fun.”
The adaptability he showed that day became his calling card for the rest of the season. Gibbs finished second in Crimson Tide single-season history for receptions by a running back with 44 en route to 444 receiving yards and three touchdowns. On the ground, he was just as explosive, totaling a team-high 926 rushing yards along with seven touchdowns.
Gibbs now joins a Lions’ offense that ranked third in the NFL last year in total yardage, racking up 6,460 with more than 4,000 of those yards coming through the air.
“I just think I can take something that was good and make it great,” Gibbs said. “With what I bring to the table, with my versatility and being able to make plays in the backfield, in the return game and catching passes in the backfield and as a slot wideout. Whatever position they want me in, I know I can excel at (it).”
Gibbs lined up in the slot or out wide a combined 87 times while at Alabama and he said Detroit told him he should expect a similar workload with even more reps at receiver.
“They plan on using me almost the same way I did at Bama,” Gibbs said. “Probably a little more out at wideout. Running more routes not just go’s, hitches and slants, but probably some real receiver routes so I’m going to expand my route tree a little bit more and obviously run the ball. Try to be effective in both aspects of the game.”
To watch the full podcast, click below: