Jahmyr Gibbs relishes friendly rivalry with Bijan: "You want to out-perform the other"

Who's the best running back in the NFL?

For one day, the highest-paid running back was Bijan Robinson at $22.25 million per year. Jahmyr Gibbs topped him a day later at $22.5 million per year after signing a three-year, $67.5 million deal with the Lions that in fact makes Gibbs the highest-paid back in NFL history.

There are other backs in the well, running, for Best In The League, like Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey and Jonathan Taylor. But Gibbs and Robinson, both 23, are at least three years younger than all of them, and quite possibly still getting better.

'Who's The Best?' could soon become a two-horse race, like it was in the '90s between Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith.

"The Bijan-Gibbs debate is actually cool to see," Robinson told reporters this week after signing his extension with the Falcons. "It actually helps us both out because every single Sunday or whatever day we play, we're always trying to compete against each other. And to have a guy like that, that I can compete with in whatever game he's playing in and whatever game I'm playing in, we just know that we have to give our best effort. It's cool to experience that."

Gibbs and Robinson have been compared to each other since they entered the NFL as the only two running backs taken in the first round of the 2023 draft, Robinson 8th overall, Gibbs 12th. It actually goes back much further than that. The duo has a friendship that dates to their days as top recruits coming out of high school.

Robinson went on to Texas, while Gibbs, a Georgia native, landed at Georgia Tech before finishing his college career at Alabama. They bound wound up under the tutelage of current Lions running backs coach Tashard Choice, who first coached Gibbs at Georgia Tech and then Robinson at Texas.

Gibbs, like Robinson, is looking forward to watching their friendly rivalry continue, especially in Week 13 this season when Gibbs and the Lions head to Atlanta to clash with Robinson and the Falcons.

"It’s been the same thing since high school," said Gibbs. "We were both rated really high and then going out of college, it was just me and him (to go in the first round), and now the new-age of backs, the highlight is me and him. We’re both extremely competitive, we’re good friends. Of course you want to out-perform the other, so that’s definitely going to drive us."

"And thankfully we got a game in Atlanta," he added with a smile, "so I’m gonna be back at the crib. And we’ll see what happens."

Robinson led the NFL in scrimmage yards last season with 2,298. Gibbs finished fifth with 1,839.

Over three seasons, Robinson has more scrimmage yards (5,648) and rushing yards (3,910), but Gibbs has more yards per carry (5.3), yards per touch (5.9) and leads the NFL in rushing/receiving touchdowns with 49.

Their nearly identical extensions increased the earning potential for future running backs, resetting the market twice in a span of 48 hours. That's something they take pride in, said Gibbs.

"We want to open the gates for the younger generation, show them the pathway of being able to do it (like us). Example, be an every-down back, being able to pass protect, catch, just being explosive," said Gibbs. "You don’t want the team to have to take you off the field."

Both Gibbs and Robinson, as if in lockstep, were hold-ins at training camp until signing their extensions. After suiting up for practice on Friday, Gibbs called the process "extremely stressful, because I just wanted to play ball."

"I missed being out there with my teammates and coaches, and it’s just fun being out there now with my pads and stuff on," he said. "It feels a lot better."