Gibbs is smashing records and putting the NFL on notice.
The Detroit Lions’ offense is on a different level this season. Ranking 1st in the NFL in points scored, and 5th in offensive yards — the team boasts not only the league’s No. 1 passer in Jared Goff, but also a Top 3 running back and three receivers who rank in the league’s Top 30. While Goff unquestionably deserves his flowers, it’s Jahmyr Gibbs who is putting forth not just a record-breaking season by his own standards, but one which stands against the pinnacle of legends in the game.
Gibbs ran for his 7th touchdown of the season Sunday, his second of the day — taking his career total to an astonishing 58 total touchdowns, just five games into his fourth season. It broke an NFL record held by the incomparable Barry Sanders, as Gibbs became the league’s all-time leading touchdown scorer for a player who hadn’t yet turned 25-years-old.
Perhaps the scariest part is that while Gibbs holds the record, he won’t turn 25 until March of 2027 — meaning he’ll have another 12 regular-season games to keep padding his resume and making the record as untouchable as possible. No player has eclipsed 50 total touchdowns before turning 25 since Todd Gurley in 2018, and before that it was Maurice Jones-Drew in 2009. We’re seemingly due one player each decade capable of putting up these numbers, and it just so happens that it’s Jahmyr Gibbs’ time.
Gibbs is on pace this season to finish with 1,714 rushing yards, 826 receiving yards, and a mind-boggling 31 total touchdowns. This would put him in the same company as LaDainian Tomlinson’s record-smashing 2006 season, when he finished with 28 rushing touchdowns. The year Gibbs is putting up also eclipses Christian McCaffrey’s best all-purpose season when he finished with 2,392 yards from scrimmage and 19 touchdowns in 2018.
While Gibbs has been phenomenal, it’s also worth appreciating just how elite that entire 2023 running back class has become. Not only has it given us two of the best running backs in the NFL, but even deeper in the draft there were gems who have come to define their teams.
- Bijan Robinson (No. 8 overall): 6,380 total yards, 39 TD
- Jahmyr Gibbs (No. 12 overall): 5,776 total yards, 58 TD
- De’Von Achane (No. 84 overall): 4,510 total yards, 35 TD
- Chase Brown (No. 163 overall): 3,511 total yards, 24 TD
The NFL is seeing a new wave of running back resurgence, and these four players are helping define the era. At the top we have Bijan Robinson and Jaymyr Gibbs, both of whom are ready to take on the mantle as the league’s most dynamic all-purpose backs. It’s beautiful for anyone who likes smashmouth football, and the sky is the limit for how far their careers will go.