The story before the NFL draft is typically a cautionary tale. The metaphorical ghost of Trent Richardson and countless others loom over the media, with fanbases begging teams not to draft a running back in the first round.
The question has always been "how early is too early" when it comes to selecting a running back. The common sentiment is that they simply don't produce enough in comparison to a high draft slot. It is this sentiment, when combined with the peak production ages for a running back being below average, it's reasonable to understand why this has been a point of contention in the draft community.
However, it's clear that NFL teams don't necessarily feel the same way. Since 2020, five running backs were selected in the first round, with the most recent example being the most staggering.
On night one of the 2023 NFL Draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected Bijan Robinson number eight overall, and the Detroit Lions selected Jahmyr Gibbs number 12 overall.
The former was, at least somewhat, expected. Bijan Robinson was considered by many to be a generational prospect at the running back position, and a selection in the first round was almost a certainty.
It was the latter in Gibbs that few expected. Unlike Robinson, the opinion on the Alabama product was varying, with some believing he was a first round talent, and others seeing him as a complementary piece at the next level.
What nearly nobody expected was for both of them to be selected in the top 12, and the reaction on draft night was unsurprisingly negative.
The stigma against the running back position, as I mentioned earlier, is somewhat backed by production numbers. However, the sentiment amongst social media would have the casual fan suspecting that both teams selected players who wouldn't have been drafted otherwise.
Robinson and Gibbs are both talented in their own ways, and when we take a look at who selected each of them, there is certainly a bit more perspective on how these players may serve much more as a foray into the world of positionless football, rather than simply a bad selection.
Falcons head coach Arthur Smith and Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson are among the brightest minds in the league, with resumes that live up to that reputation.
Smith's Atlanta Falcons were third in total rushing in 2022, along with being fourth in yards per carry. A team that struggled at quarterback, making them largely predictable, Atlanta won football games on the ground, and that's largely due to the man at the helm.
Johnson's Detroit Lions were only 11th in rushing yards. However, they were also top seven in passing yards, presenting a well rounded attack that combined to rank fifth in points per game last season.
Both teams, despite having different strengths, both decided to spend a first rounder on a running back, and by looking at some metrics for each team, we could see where their varying usage will begin to take form.
Let's start with Smith's Falcons, and the most prominent example of his innovation at the running back position: Cordarelle Patterson. Prior to Smith's arrival in Atlanta, Patterson had primarily been a kick returner (and was drafted as a wide receiver), never cracking 250 rushing yards in a season.
In Smith's first season with the Falcons, however, Patterson's role drastically changed. He recorded a staggering 205 total touches (compared to his previous record of 85), and shattered his previous highs in rushing and receiving. Patterson had become a weapon, with 1166 yards from scrimmage in 2021 (618 rushing and 548 receiving).
The rushing numbers are certainly interesting, as Smith was able to take a player who had never consistently played running back and produce an efficient rushing season. Thus, we could only imagine the rushing possibilities for a player of Bijan's caliber.
It is those receiving numbers, however (which were a career high for Patterson), which present many more intriguing possibilities, when analyzed in terms of where those targets came from.
Per FootballOutsiders , Patterson's targets were among the most spread out at the running back position across the league. Among targets out wide, in the backfield, and in the slot, Patterson's percentages were as evenly distributed as any primary running back in the NFL. He saw 29% of targets from the backfield, 33.3% from the slot, and 37.7% out wide.
This distribution showed a commitment to getting the football into the hands of the Falcons' most versatile weapon in 2021. One that can, and should, be expected with Robinson.
The question can be asked of whether or not Robinson is as pure of a receiver as Patterson, given that he played his entire collegiate career as a primary running back. To that, look no further than Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, who, in an interview with Peter King, said "he had the best hands on our team", and argued that Robinson could have entered the NFL as a slot receiver.
The thing is, however, that we already knew most of this about Bijan. As I stated earlier, he was regarded by many as the best running back prospect since Saquon Barkley, who was famously drafted number two overall by the Giants.
Despite this, however, Gibbs' role might be even easier to decipher, with several signs pointing in similar directions about his potential usage.
First off, Detroit, almost immediately after drafting Gibbs, traded away running back D'Andre Swift to the Philadelphia Eagles. Swift, who seemed to have fallen out of favor with Dan Campbell and the coaching staff, was a major part of the offense in 2022. His 70 targets were 9th among all running backs in the NFL last season, and while David Montgomery was signed this Spring, there are still plenty of targets to go around.
Gibbs' receiving ability is well documented. After playing both running back and wide receiver in high school, Gibbs went on to have over 900 yards in his final two collegiate seasons, taking snaps in the backfield, slot, and out wide.
In combination with his explosiveness, it's Gibbs' receiving that has landed him comparisons to Alvin Kamara, who was able to win over a crowded backfield as a rookie and tally 826 receiving yards.
While Kamara was an exception and not the rule, there is a clear path to Gibbs having high level production early on. With Jameson Williams (who was expected to be the WR2 for Detroit) suspended for the first six games, the amount of receiving talent on the Lions' depth chart isn't as much as once thought.
It's very possible that Detroit may opt to simply bring out their best five weapons out at a time, and it's hard to argue against Gibbs being in that group as early as day one.
He certainly will have to split time in the backfield with Montgomery, but behind one of the league's best offensive line units, Gibbs and his big-play ability have a real opportunity make the most of the holes that open up for him.
The bottom line is that Gibbs, as well as Robinson, can get the ball in just about any capacity, and make defenses pay. The term "helmet scouting" has become a common term for biases in favor of or against certain schools, and I believe the same can be applied to positional scouting.
Just because the player was drafted with the "RB" tag, doesn't mean that they are simply a runner. As we have seen with weapons such as Kamara, Patterson, Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, and more, the best offensive minds find ways to get the ball in the hands of their most explosive athletes.
The NFL is an always evolving game, with coaches constantly trying to find a new edge, and when talking about two of the more innovative minds in the sport, I truly believe there is a concrete plan for these two playmakers. Although these selections may seem old school based on the position, they could be anything but, as we push forward into the world of positionless football.
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