Early this summer, the Lions seemed keen on signing Todd Gurley. They were looking for more depth at running back behind D'Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams. Three months later, Gurley remains a free agent and the Lions feel much better about their backfield.
GM Brad Holmes said Thursday that he and Dan Campbell consider it one of their positions of strength on offense, along with the O-line.
"We want to be able to run the football, and I believe we have the staff and personnel in place to have those expectations," said Holmes.
It still starts with Swift and Williams. 'Swaggy and Swifty,' as Williams dubbed the duo in camp, are the dual engines of Detroit's rushing attack. But if opportunities trickle down the depth chart, the Lions have two more backs raring to go.
Asked Thursday if there are players he thinks more of now than when camp began, Holmes pointed first to Jermar Jefferson.
"When we drafted Jermar, he's a seventh-round rookie that we felt really, really good about in the process, but he's still a rookie and we weren't quite sure. Obviously late-round guy or undrafted guy is going to have a hell of a chance with the coaching they're receiving in Duce Staley and Anthony Lynn, but you don't know for sure, for sure. But Jermar has improved every single week to the point where it's like, OK, the pass protection got better, what he's supposed to do got better, he's got natural vision and to see it come to life in practices and games makes you feel really, really good about the position," Holmes said.
The Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year last season at Oregon State, Jefferson was the last running back off the board in the draft. He was quiet in the Lions' preseason opener, but averaged 4.6 yards on 14 carries over the next two games. He's the team's No. 3 back entering the season, and don't be surprised if he makes an impact in the early going with D'Andre Swift nursing a groin injury.
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After Jefferson, Holmes singled out Godwin Igwebuike. The 26-year-old spent spent the last three years bouncing around the NFL -- and the XFL -- as a safety. That's where he was playing for the Lions, who signed him to a futures contract in January, a month ago.
"Godwin is probably the best story I can think of throughout this entire camp," said Holmes. "A guy that was at safety and A-Lynn saw something in a special teams drill with the ball in his hand and brought up the idea of making a switch. And credit to him, he bought in, took it in stride and worked really, really hard and got better every single week to the point where he earned a spot on this team.
"So I'd say those youth positions at running back were really, really impressive."
Igwebuike, like Jefferson, didn't do much in the preseason opener. But he put up 46 yards and two touchdowns over the next two games to secure a spot on the team.
