The first time Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson shared the same field was at the High School All-American Bowl. The next time will be Sunday in Detroit. They were two of the top running back recruits in the country in 2020 who became the top two running backs taken in this year's NFL draft: Robinson No. 8 to the Falcons, Gibbs No. 12 to the Lions.
"I first met him at the All-American game, so I've been chopping it up with him a bit throughout the years," Gibbs said Thursday. "We’ve been following each other. Been keeping up with each other and supporting each other."
They even played for the same running backs coach in college. Gibbs spent two seasons at Georgia Tech under Tashard Choice, who moved onto Texas and coached Robinson the same season that Gibbs transferred to Alabama.
So as Gibbs said, "We've always been connected."
It will stay that way though their NFL careers. Drafted four picks apart in an era where running backs rarely go in the first round, Robinson and Gibbs will be compared to each other from this point forward. Gibbs smiled, knowing this is true. The count has already started: 116 yards on 23 touches in two games for Gibbs, 172 yards on 23 touches for Robinson in last week's game alone. With Robinson across the way Sunday, Gibbs can close the gap.
"I don’t really look at it like that," he said. "I’m not really focused on that, I’m just trying to win games. If that’s me having me a big game, then so be it; if it’s not, so be it. But as a competitor, you always want to do great in front of everybody."
For Gibbs, it feels like a big game is coming. He's in line for more work this week with Detroit's lead back David Montgomery unlikely to play due to a thigh injury; he missed practice Thursday for the second day in a row. The Lions say they'll stick with a "by committee" approach in the backfield, but surely Gibbs has more carries coming his way. He's had just seven each of his first two games.
"Gibby can do anything," offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said Thursday. "We’ll see what all we ask him to do, but we feel very comfortable with him doing anything that our running backs need to do.”
Without Montgomery, they'll need him to run between the tackles -- like Robinson has for the Falcons. Gibbs says he's ready for whatever his role entails. If that means finding physical yards through the trenches, "most definitely," he said, "I do what I think is necessary. If I think I should try to lower my shoulder, I will." And if and when he finds the end zone Sunday at Ford Field, Gibbs has a celebration up his sleeve.
"It’s going to be funny. I don't know if everyone will get it, but I think the kids — or the people my age on TikTok — I think they’ll get it," he said with a laugh.
The fans are clamoring, understandably so, for the 21-year-old to get more touches. For one, they see what Robinson is doing in Atlanta. Moreover, they saw what Gibbs did two weeks ago in Kansas City, breaking tackles almost every time he got the ball. Gibbs hears you: "First of all, I appreciate all the love from the fan base. Thank y’all for supporting me."
"Being a competitor, everybody wants more touches," Gibbs said. "But I’m willing to do whatever the team needs me to do to help us win. If that’s more touches, less, it really don’t matter to me if we get the dub."
Robinson is off and running for the Falcons, who are 2-0. He's second to only Christian McCaffrey in rushing yards and yards per carry. He's tied for fifth in the NFL in scrimmage yards with Tyreek Hill. After Gibbs forced six missed tackles in Week 1, Robinson forced six in Week 2 with one jump-cut after another. Gibbs grinned when asked about Robinson's signature move: "That sh*t's nice."
Robinson is bulkier than Gibbs by about 20 pounds, listed at 220. To Gibbs, "the things he can do at that size is amazing. He has all the skillsets, he can run it, catch it, run routes." The Lions saw the same talent in the lead-up to the draft. When they were on the clock at No. 6, they also saw a chance to trade down and still get their guy. They considered Gibbs an "elite, explosive, position-less weapon" and the perfect complement to Montgomery, a proven bellcow.
Dan Campbell said last week that the Lions "liked both of those guys, but we just really felt like with where we were at, we got D-Mo here, Gibbs fit what we needed perfectly." That was before Montgomery got hurt. What the Lions need now, assuming Montgomery misses time, is a running back they drafted 12th overall. For all the gushing about Gibbs the receiver, Lions running backs coach Scottie Montgomery said this summer, "There's another facet to him that people don't really see:
"He’s a hell of a ball-carrier."
It's time for him to carry it.