In last year's draft, Brad Holmes and the Lions traded up to No. 12 to take an offensive star out of Alabama. This year, they traded down and did the same.
The Lions moved down from No. 6 on Thursday night and landed one of the most explosive offensive players in the draft in Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs.
Gibbs is a speedy dual-threat weapon who's been compared to Saints star Alvin Kamara. He'll join a backfield that already features David Montgomery and D'Andre Swift and is bolstered by one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. He ran the second fastest 40-yard dash (4.36) among running backs at this year's combine.
Listed at 5'9, 200 lbs., Gibbs rushed for 926 yards on 6.1 yards per carry and added 444 yards through the air last season. His game is also similar to that of Swift, who may well become a trade candidate as the draft moves on.
NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein describes Gibbs as "a slasher who can stretch defenses wide (with) the wiggle to elude tacklers in space" and says his "versatility and pass-catching prowess will give creative play-callers an opportunity to exploit certain personnel groupings and find mismatches in space."
Which will make one Ben Johnson happy in Detroit.