Jahmyr Gibbs, Alabama (5’11, 200)
What Scouts Say:
Explosive runner, a great receiver out of the backfield, and an elusive and athletic back. He lacks ideal size and struggles to pass block. Does not fumble. Never broke 1000 yards rushing in college, but was an elite pass-game option. An efficient runner with great contact balance. Sometimes tries to do too much and tries to hit the home run on every play.
What We Saw:
Tony:
If he was big enough to be a 3 down RB, Gibbs would be a legitimate contender for Bijan’s crown. Alas, he isn’t, and will most likely be most effective as part of a committee at the next level. However, he is a tremendous receiver and space creator, with the ability to take any touch to the house. His gear shifting, an outrageous bag of moves, and ability to set up his blocks are almost as impressive as his ability to find cutback lanes. He’s small, but my god he’s fucking good.
Shane:
There’s a weird narrative I read that Gibbs only had one year of great production, I don’t know who said that but they clearly didn’t watch the same tape I did. Sure he only played for Alabama for 1 season, but he came in as a transfer and planted his flag as the number 1 offensive weapon on his team, in the hardest division in college. Gibbs is an electric football player, full stop. Three levels of speed, once he touches that 3rd level he is gone and there’s no hope for the defense. I’ve watched tape in weird orders for prospects where there are a few guys who don’t have the ability to have the threat of housing it at any point. Gibbs has that ability, every run feels like it can be 72 yards. Granted he’s not an up-the-gut, shedding blocker like King Henry, but he can find the seam and exploit it to get to the secondary very consistently. I really believe that pregame, someone covers Gibbs in grease because he is slippery, he can make dudes miss with a simple cut and excellent vision. He does tend to bounce the play to the edge or boundary more than normal but if that’s the worst of his normal run game, I’ll take it. His real strength is his pass-catching ability along with his speed/elusiveness to be a swiss army knife weapon. I’m not expecting him to be a bell cow, that’s not his build. He’ll have to work on his pass blocking but the effort is there so he can get better and make sure he stays on the field for the crucial 3rd downs. I’ll be happy with 10-14 quality touches per game with a few passes thrown in there. I feel he fits the mold of where The Nfl is headed towards in regards to the RB position. Hammer and nail where Gibbs is the masonry nail loaded into 500psi to go straight through a defense.
Player Comparison:
Alvin Kamara (x2)
