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Jahmyr Gibbs had one heck of a rookie season for the Detroit Lions. Yet the team believes he can do even more in his second season in Ben Johnson’s offense.
The first-round running back showed off good hands as a receiver in 2023, catching 52 passes for 316 yards and a touchdown. The catch ratio, hailing in 52 of his 71 targets, is impressive. The yards per reception and general diversity of his passing game usage could stand some improvement.
Lions assistant head coach and RBs coach Scottie Montgomery laid out how Gibbs can become even more dangerous as a receiver.
“What we need him to do from a passing game standpoint is go to that next level,” Montgomery said. He then explained what that entailed for Gibbs.
“I do think there’s a certain difference between route running from the backfield and being a really, really sufficient and efficient check-down runner vs. what it is to be a great route runner, a guy that can run all types of choice (routes). We know we’ve seen him do those things, but now can you go into the slot and do a little bit more down the field? Some intermediate stuff, can we continue to grow him there? And that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Gibbs did not work out during the OTA session open to the media last week. The Lions have a mandatory minicamp this week.