Quick Reactions: Lions First-Round Surprises
A brief rundown of a few thoughts following last evening’s first-round, which saw the Lions trade down and acquire Alabama RB Jahmyr Gibbs and Iowa LB Jack Campbell.
Jahmyr Gibbs is a Home Run Threat Extraordinaire
Anyone who followed the draft rumors knew that Gibbs’ stock was trending up, but I don’t think anyone really realized how highly he was trending until Brad Holmes pulled the trigger and took him twelfth overall, a shock to all. And rather than get bogged down in the endless positional value debate (which I think is drastically misapplied and poorly used), the reality remains that Jahmyr Gibbs is a very talented football player with a very clear skillset that the Lions can and will benefit from.
His sparkplug ability on offense is exceptional, with speed and quick feet that allow him to make lightening fast cuts, breaking with sharpness and precision and then turning the jets on and screaming past would-be tacklers. While some were not willing to acknowledge this in-season, Jamaal Williams left a lot of yards on the field, due to a lack of big-play ability, and the Lions clearly set about fixing that with the addition of Gibbs here.
As to his role, he likely supplants D’Andre Swift in a hurry as the Lions RB2. Now, I do think Gibbs is the Lions most talented back, over veteran David Montgomery, but Gibbs’ build and lack of physicality between the tackles does relegate him a bit to more of a change of pace back. Even as a more featured weapon, I would still expect Montgomery, who is bigger and more durable, to rack up more carries, but Gibbs’ pass catching abilities will make him the more featured player in Detroit’s offense.
Jack Campbell plays like 10-Year Veteran
If you weren’t surprised with Gibbs you are lying to yourself. And if you weren’t also surprised with Campbell, well that one is a tad bit more believable but still it was another shocker, especially given the cornerbacks on the board. However, the Lions added Jack Campbell, who despite the last name and similar intensity, is not Dan Campbell’s son. He is a very savvy middle linebacker with a throwback build.
Campbell is the Big Ten’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, and he was a tackle machine for the Hawkeyes, showing elite play diagnosis and physicality. He’s a sure-handed tackler and an exceptional leader who will be the Lions “green dot” player on defense in a hurry. For those who do not know what that means, one player on defense is able to communicate with the coaching staff via a mic’d up helmet and relay the play calls. That’s Campbell’s bread and butter is his elite football intelligence.
Even after extending Alex Anzalone to a 3-year deal, the Lions will almost certainly be expecting Campbell to secure a starting role in a hurry, and this move likely relegates Malcolm Rodriguez to a reserve role going forward. Either way, Campbell has the smarts and savvy to become a bonafide field general for the Lions defense, and a stalwart in the middle of their defense for the next decade if he hits.
Breaking the Mold: Some Notes From These Picks
As to the molds, let’s discuss these. First up, the Gibbs selection does not change much in terms of the valuation and mold of running back. Holmes has always had a high valuation for the position, evidenced by his own words discussing the value he felt the Rams got from taking Todd Gurley in the top-ten awhile back, and even despite that, RB was a frequent selection for the Rams when he was Snead’s right-hand man.
The big change there however is the actual type of running back. Gibbs is formally the first running back that Holmes has been a part of drafting that is below 200 pounds, and while it’s just 199 pounds, a literal pound, it is still a bit noteworthy because it also fits some of the narrative around RB size and play-style. Bigger backs tend to be more physical, and all the backs Holmes had previously gone for had some manner of downhill violence in how they ran. Gibbs does not. As mentioned above, he’s more of a scatback type, hitting the edges with speed and catching passes out of the backfield. This is Holmes officially expanding the Lions RB repertoire with a previously non-acquired type of prospect. Simply put, going forward, projecting the Lions to take scatback types becomes more plausible now that we have seen Holmes is willing to grab smaller backs.
The Jack Campbell pick breaks the mold in both directions. First off, the positional value on off-ball linebacker was previously thought to be non-existant. Prior to last evening, Derrick Barnes in the fourth-round was the highest Holmes had ever used a linebacker pick. He clearly blew that narrative out of the water with this selection.
Beyond that though is again the type of linebacker. The Jack Campbell mold was the ideal mold of a player Holmes would target on Day 3, with my previous assumption/framework being that only players with elite third-down skills (coverage, blitzing, pass rushing) would be considered early on. Campbell’s a well-rounded player and does not really fit that type of mold as an elite three-down back. He’s more of a field general who will excel on first and second downs, and then be in a limited role on third. Thus, if you told me the Lions were going to add a first-round linebacker, I would have pegged Arkansas’ Drew Sanders as the likely name there.
This selection really just blows up everything that was previously held about the linebacker position, though both picks do reinforce certain narratives, which is that Holmes values speed and explosiveness in testing, and high intangibles, football intelligence, and leadership from a character background. Both picks fit that one well and continue to point towards those as distinguishing factors in whom this front office will select.
Lions in Great Shape Heading into Round 2
One of the most important things to note is that the Lions are in excellent position for the second-round. The list of available players is littered with strong value, good players, and dudes who really fit the Lions’ MO.
Starting at 34, I would guess the Lions continue their lesser positional value trend and grab either TE Michael Mayer or a guard, likely G O’Cyrus Torrence, but G Steve Avila is another worthy candidate. I think between Pittsburgh and Arizona ahead of them, one will take Joey Porter Jr., but if he is there he’d be another really strong candidate.
Then with 48 and 55, there’s still a depth of quality options, with Wisconsin DT Keeanu Benton, Iowa TE Sam LaPorta, Northwestern DT Adetomiwa Adebawore, and Syracuse OL Matthew Bergeron all sticking out as players the Lions could be interested in.
Regardless of what you felt about the first-round, the second-round looks very likely to break the Lions’ poor second-round trend these days.
Again, feel free to track along on Day 2 and 3 with my Lions fit board which has a list of 197 players who fit the Lions general molds very well. I will be updating it sporadically when players are picked, but no guarantees as I am married and possessing a social life. Again, lot of good options there for Detroit.