Free Press sports reporter Dave Birkett takes a position-by-position look at the top prospects and biggest Detroit Lions needs in the 2023 NFL draft. This is the second in an eight-part series.
The Lions lost leading rusher Jamaal Williams to free agency, but upgraded their backfield by signing David Montgomery to a three-year deal. Montgomery is a dangerous, durable back who has averaged 229 carries per season over his four-year career, but, like Williams, he’s not much of a home run threat. He has had just one game of more than 90 yards rushing since steamrolling the Lions for 106 yards in Week 4 of the 2021 season.
The Lions do have one big-play back on their roster in D’Andre Swift, though injuries have tormented him throughout his career. Swift is in the last year of his contract, and if the Lions want to start planning for a future without him, they could target a running back in the draft who’s adept in the passing game.
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Beyond Montgomery and Swift, the Lions have several replacement-level backs on their roster in Craig Reynolds, Jermar Jefferson and Greg Bell — young but unproven talents whose biggest contributions project to come on special teams.
The Lions had the 12th most rushing attempts in the NFL last season (and the fifth-most excluding quarterback rushes), so they might want a rookie who can play alongside Montgomery the next three years. Conventional NFL wisdom says not to draft a back early, and no back has gone higher than 24th overall since 2018. But the Lions have the luxury of having two first-round picks (and five of the first 81 choices overall), so they might be tempted to buck that trend.
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On the roster: RB: David Montgomery, D’Andre Swift, Craig Reynolds, Jermar Jefferson, Greg Bell. FB: Jason Cabinda.
Top 3 RB prospects: 1. Bijan Robinson, Texas; 2. Jahmyr Gibbs, Alabama; 3. Zach Charbonnet, UCLA.
Other players with Michigan ties: Lew Nichols III, Central Michigan.
Day 3 sleeper who could interest Lions: Keaton Mitchell, East Carolina.
Recent Lions draft picks at RB: 2022 — None. 2021 —Jermar Jefferson (Round 7). 2020 — D’Andre Swift (Round 2); Jason Huntley (Round 5). 2019 — Ty Johnson (Round 6). 2018 — Nick Bawden (Round 7).
Draft dish
Robinson is the best running back prospect to enter the draft since at least Saquon Barkley, but he is not expected to go nearly as high as Barkley did when the New York Giants made him the No. 2 pick in 2018. A multi-dimensional talent and the reigning Doak Walker Award winner, Robinson has elite vision, footwork and outstanding measurables after posting top-six combine performances in the 40-yard dash and vertical and broad jumps among running backs. He could be a top-10 pick, interest the Lions at 18 or slide into the 20s, but he has star potential no matter where he goes.
Gibbs and Charbonnet are the best of the potential Day 2 backs in what many consider a deep running back class. Gibbs is an elite pass-catching back drawing comparisons to New Orleans’ Alvin Kamara. He averaged 6.6 yards per carry and saw time as a returner at Alabama last season after starring his first two seasons at Georgia Tech. Charbonnet, who played at Michigan before transferring to UCLA, isn’t as slippery as Robinson or Gibbs, but he led the nation in all-purpose yards last season and offers three-down potential in a 214-pound package.
NFL teams have shied away from taking running backs early in recent years. Of the 24 backs drafted last year, just six went in the first three rounds; the second-to-last back taken, Isiah Pacheco, finished the season as a starter on the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Among running backs who could go outside the top 75 next week, several have the potential to be NFL starters. Texas A&M’s Devon Achane ran the fourth-fastest 40-yard dash time of any running back in combine history. Texas’ Roschon Johnson is a converted quarterback who spent most of his career as Robinson’s backup. Tyjae Spears was ultra-productive at Tulane but has a history of knee injuries. And Nichols led the NCAA in rushing in 2021 before injuries cut into his production last year.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.