Detroit Lions running backs coach Tashard Choice has known Jahmyr Gibbs for nearly a decade dating back to when he started recruiting Gibbs out of high school in Georgia when Choice was the running backs coach at Georgia Tech.
So when Choice said this offseason is the best Gibbs has ever looked, that's saying something.
"My conversation with Jah once he finished the season last year was the fact that I wanted him to start faster at the beginning of the season," Choice said. "So going into the offseason how he prepared his body. He did some MMA training out there in (California) with (Amon-Ra) St. Brown doing some different things. He's come back and looked the best he's looked so far in his pro career."
That's important given the Lions plan to lean on Gibbs to be the lead back for the running game following the offseason trade of David Montgomery, who shared the backfield with Gibbs the last three seasons.
It's now Gibbs' backfield in Detroit with veterans Isiah Pacheco and Sione Vaki in reserve.
"I mean he is, he's going to be our bell cow now," Campbell said of Gibbs. "He really became more of that last year, but we're going to hang our hat on him quite a bit. We're going to do a lot of things we feel like he does well."
Gibbs said the lead role is nothing new to him having been that player in high school and college. We got a taste of what it might look like at the end of the 2024 season when Montgomery missed the final three games of the regular season with a knee injury and Gibbs averaged 21 carries, 122 yards and nearly two touchdowns per game in wins over Chicago, San Francisco and Minnesota.
"When the head coach tells you he's giving you the keys and you have the responsibility for everybody in the organization, every kid and every fan that's a Detroit Lions fan ... he has to handle that and handle it well," Choice said.
"For him to be in the best shape he can be in. He's smarter. He knows the offense. So, I'm excited for him. He has a big role to play and I'm really (looking forward to) what level he plays at right now."
Gibbs has already established himself as one of the top running backs in the NFL. His 49 touchdowns are the most any player has scored through their first three seasons in NFL history and that was in a shared backfield role for most of that time.
Gibbs had 182 carries as a rookie in 2023, 250 in 2024 and 243 last season, which ranked 11th most among NFL running backs. He rushed for at least 1,200 yards and 13 touchdowns in each of the last two seasons and caught a career-high 77 passes.
What could those numbers look like if Gibbs reaches 300 carries like Jonathan Taylor (323), Christian McCaffrey (311), James Cook (309) and Derrick Henry (307) did last year?
For his part, Gibbs put in the work this offseason to handle that kind of responsibility and is poised for a big season.
