The Detroit Lions Running back Room | Detroit Lions Podcast

hey everyone this is Jeff risen with the Detroit Lions podcast in lionswire and we are to our final offensive positional group preview ahead of training camp we did offensive line we've done tight ends wide receivers don't will need to do quarterbacks um although I did write that at L wire but now we are up to the running backs let's go [Music] all right pretty straightforward at the top here with the running backs um there's no mystery to this uh we've got jir Gibbs David Montgomery you can call them 1 a 1B um AB they are both incredible performers they are both coming off of years where they knitted over 1,000 yards from scrimmage Montgomery rushed for over a th000 Gibbs just missed it it's very likely that they will both get there to that 1,000 yard mark this season Montgomery looks fantastic he uh did the deadlift of it effectively of an adult manate uh video for that is is incredible um he didn't actually pick up a manate um just just the weight of one uh and Gibbs by all accounts is coming along very well from his offseason uh issues with his injuries uh he should be back in fine one training camp starts here in a couple of weeks uh down in Allen Park uh and I will certainly be there and watching these guys very closely but uh you know they can do it all they do it differently Montgomery much more of a um thick lower body power Runner um runs people over runs through arm tackles uh he can catch the ball he can pass protect very well Gibbs much more of an elusive uh somewhere between Barry Sanders and Reggie Bush type of elusiveness uh also like Reggie is a phenomenal receiver out of the back field very good on running routes um making things happen after the catch and I suspect that you will see him catch a lot of passes this year uh so that again no drama at the top it's where you get to number three number four number five how many do the Lions keep that's where the uh the nuts and the Bulls of the conversation come in uh and we'll start right there are they going to keep three or are they going to keep four I'm going to go on the presumption right now that they're keeping four uh and that's because I do think that Craig Reynolds is has shown enough as the number three back that they trust him in a lot of different situations his pass protection is good his downfield blocking I mean we all saw that in Tampa um I'm Brown thanks him very much for that can run the ball between the tackles can grind out short yardage um fits in well with the team can sort of back up either spot uh he is not a speed guy not like Gibbs at all uh but he can get get out of the open field a little bit uh and uh he's proven himself he's also inexpensive and that matters too um your depth has to be inexpensive he's going to get pushed for that number three spot though by C vaki the the rookie uh from Utah and vaki you know played Safety primarily at Utah but did play some running back and is Shifting completely to running back and I'm first off I'm proud of the Lions for seeing him as a running back uh and that's something that I was told early in the draft process when a lot of other teams were still looking at vaky as a safety lion Saw's better running back and I kind of did too uh just based on his All or Nothing style um which works better as a running back than it does as a safety uh he's probably not ever going to be one of those guys that that goes back onto defense although you can't can't ever rule anything out with this team but yeah vaky uh vaky looked very good in the spring workouts uh catching the ball out of the back field he can run wheel routes he can uh catch the ball on the dead run which is important that's something that the Lions offense uses a lot of Gibbs is very good at that Montgomery has shown he can do that as well there's uh there's a lot of usage for Pion iaki in this offense he can also play a little bit of fullback not that the Lions have one and not that they will use one much but if they do he does have the capability to come in and be a lead back in front of primarily Gibbs but I I suppose you could see a heavy set with him and and uh and Montgomery in there I don't know just just an idea that I might have there uh but I like him uh in the offense where I really like VY and why I don't think he's in any danger at all of being cut not that they would do that to a a fourth round rookie anyways but uh special teams he's already excelled as special teams coverage units he's the first guy down every kick off every punt he avoids blocks like it's his job which which kind of is just a phenomenal special teams Instinct player and he could also wind up being the kick returner that's a very likely possibility uh they were certainly giving him looks at that in in uh mini camp and OTAs I think you're going to see a lot of that in training camp as well where c vaki number 33 is going to get a lot of shots to prove that he can be their returned man uh and that sort of gives them the flexibility to carry him even if Craig Reynolds remains as a number free running back that still gives value for a rookie uh that they've invested some in and and I do think that that's that's probably the most likely outcome although it wouldn't be crazy if they kept VY and decided you know what we're good enough there we can you know bring one of these guys that I'm about to talk to on the practice squad and bring them up uh if we need to and uh maybe let Craig Reynolds go to a team that's a little bit more running back needy um that wouldn't shock me either uh we'll have to see how that plays out in training camp but uh the Lions do have some depth here and next up on the dep short a guy that a lot of fans um including myself loved a lot last summer that's zonovan Knight Don't Call Him bam he's zonovan he's back he's healthy uh after the injury that wiped out his 2023 season another physical inside to outside Runner very good acceleration very good Vision pretty good balance through contact which I think is probably uh Montgomery's best attribute uh there's there's a lot to like about Knight this is a guy who rushed very well for the Jets when they gave him a chance a couple years ago he's got to prove he can stay healthy and he's got to prove he can pass protect but uh there there's something this guy this guy belongs in the NFL uh and right now he's on the outside looking in at this team um that's sort of a a recurring theme with lions you know we talked about with the tight ends too um there's if they don't keep four there's there's a guy on that team that's going to get caught right now that's going to wind up playing on another roster that's just the the embarrassment of offensive riches that we have in Detroit and I can't I'm waiting to be struck down from the heavens for uttering that phrase but that's where we are folks it's a good place to be I like that I like Knight a lot actually I like what I've seen from Jake Funk a guy that uh a lot of people don't pay much attention to he looks pretty good in in reps this this spring uh got a lot of got a lot of Swing passes where he can catch the ball and turn it up field proved he can do that pass protection he's in the right place at the right time special teams again we've talked about this at the other positions if you're not going to start on this team you've got to contribute on special teams especially if you're inexpensive that's a great way to be I don't think that Jake Funk has a lot of shot at this roster but guy can play and he's going to get a chance to prove himself and he does have skills that mesh well with what they're trying to do offensively so uh don't write him off just yet gerar Jefferson is back probably his like last go around he's really got to show a lot this year uh he hasn't made it in thinner back fields than this in the past um that's no slight on him it's just the reality of where he's at if he hasn't made his impact in Detroit by now it's probably not going to happen for him um it's just you know unfortunate because there's there's a lot of things to like about him he hits the hole hard he also can catch the ball out of the back field I I will go back to 2022 his pass protection was probably the worst I've ever seen in an NFL training camp from a running back it was abysmal it was scary has he improved on that I hope so I don't think it's going to be enough to get him on the field though and he also doesn't offer a lot on special teams and that's uh you know he's tried he's he's worked hard at it uh I think he's going to wind up being on another team's practice squad this year uh somewhere else and and get a shot maybe as their number four running back and if like an injury happens he can move up but uh you know again they they don't have any fullbacks let me look at the roster make sure I'm not leaving anybody off uh let's see yep that's it that's your running backs thanks for tuning in uh check out the other ones if you look on the archive here at Detroit Lions podcast uh you can find the previews that we did uh previously uh we're going to move to the defense next again we're not doing quarterbacks because it's pretty self-explanatory um and we' talked a lot about quarterbacks to begin with so uh make sure you like And subscribe and with that this is Jeff and signing out thanks for watching [Music]