One of the first thing Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes said after shocking people with the selection of Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs was that they just don’t see him as only a running back.
“It’s not just about, ‘Don’t pick a running back,’ because that’s not really how we view him,” Holmes said.
Many took that statement as a sign that they plan on using Gibbs heavily in the passing game. That’s probably a fair and accurate read of that quote. The Lions offense is obviously heavily influenced by the New Orleans Saints of the past decade, and it’s easy to see how Gibbs’ skillset overlaps with a huge receiving weapon like Alvin Kamara, who 80 catches in each of his first four years in the NFL.