Notes: Former All-Pro RB says Lions star Jahmyr Gibbs is next up

Former All-Pro running back Chris Johnson continues to hype up Detroit Lions’ Jahmyr Gibbs.

For those of you who can’t remember or were too young back then, let me tell you a little bit about former All-Pro running back Chris Johnson, and how he altered the mode of the every-down back.

Back in the day, if you weren’t at least 220 pounds, you could pretty much forget about being a lead-back in the NFL. In that era, teams were handing the ball off to their featured back 20-plus times on a routine basis. Then Johnson came along and set the league on fire. Ultra-rare speed and shiftiness combined with some really underrated toughness quickly made Johnson one of the best players in the entire league.

Recently Johnson was on the ‘Behind the Mask Podcast’ where he talked about his trailblazing career, as well as why he believes that Detroit Lions’ star running back Jahmyr Gibbs is next up.

“He cold,” said Johnson of Gibbs. “That boy cold. Before he even got drafted, I had said that he is the best running back in that draft class. He’s gonna go crazy, and man, I know one thing—if Detroit was smart, he would be their every down back.”

And this isn’t even the first time Johnson has gone out of his way to talk up Gibbs.

Listen. I love Lions running back David Montgomery. Tough, powerfully-built backs who can run through a defender’s face will always have a special place in my heart.

With that said, I cannot disagree with CJ2K. Montgomery will still get his touches, especially considering the Lions will want to keep Gibbs healthy for another playoff push in 2024. Gibbs is just too special with the ball in his hands to have it any other way.

You can watch the entire episode where Johnson sat down with hosts Takeo Spikes and Tutan Reyes here.

And now, onto the rest of today’s notes:

• We think about you, too Amik.

• Former Lions trainer Dean Kleinschmidt received the Award of Excellence from the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

• Detroit is a destination? Someone pinch me.

• Justin Rogers of The Detroit News wrote a cool profile of a less-known member of the Lions’ front office: senior director of football administration Brandon Sosna.

• The Sun God is a god for a reason after all.

• Kyle Meinke of MLive takes a look at the different verbiage about the cornerback position from Lions coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes.