Here are the stats for a past Lions rookie running back in his first ten games:
9 rushes, 71 yards, 1 TD
12 rushes, 57 yards, 1 TD
18 rushes, 126 yards, 1 TD
5 rushes, 1 yard, 0 TD
23 rushes, 99 yards, 0 TD
15 rushes, 59 yards, 0 TD
30 rushes, 184 yards, 0 TD
19 rushes, 91 yards, 2 TD
16 rushes, 69 yards, 1 TD
18 rushes, 114 yards, 1 TD
He turned out to be pretty good. You’ll never guess who it is! Go on, try! Can’t do it! No way!
I really like both Gibbs and Jamo, and I think Gibbs will probably continue to improve and hope against home that Jamo will improve. If they were mid-round picks, I would really have zero problem at all with either of them performing at their current level. It’s just really hard not to feel like there was an opportunity missed when we’ve used our top picks on guys that aren’t significantly altering games, while other high first-rounders on other teams are having a significant immediate impact.
I mean, look at what Addison has been doing on the Vikings this year. 482 yards, 7 TDs, 36 receptions in eight career games. Jamo: 96 yards, 2 TDs, 5 fucking receptions in nine career games. Jamo’s career spread over two seasons is a good game for a top-tier WR.
Or compare Gibbs to Achane, who was drafted something like 84th overall. Achane: 460 yards, 12.1 YPC, 5 TD in four games, compared to 247 yards, 4.9 YPC, 1 TD (in garbage time) in five games games for Gibbs.
This is where “Jamo needs more time” and “be patient with Gibbs” falls apart. Other teams get guys to come in make a significant, immediate impact.
Thanks for providing nuance and the stats to back it up. I really loved the line “Jamo’s career spread over two seasons is a good game for a top-tier WR”, really puts things into perspective. I think we all hope that both will turn out great, cause, like, what are the options? We don’t have any alternatives in these positions. We kind of need them to work out. Those two draft spots make me see Brad Holmes as an above average GM, but not a great one that is above questioning (deadline approaching, hint hint) yet.