School: Georgia Tech (2020-2021), Alabama (2022)

Position: RB

Year: Junior

The Good: Gibbs is exceptionally quick; that’s the bread-and-butter of his game. His jukes are straight out of Madden, and he’ll have above average speed for the NFL too. Gibbs will immediately become one of the best receiving backs in the league once he signs his first contract. I try not to harp too much on pass catching when it comes to RB evaluation, but it’s a real strength for Gibbs. He’s a dynamic route runner who’s practically unrecoverable in man coverage out of the backfield, and he can line up anywhere. Gibbs is a good team player on offense too, whether in pass protection or working to get open after the play breaks down.

The Bad: I flat out don’t view Gibbs as a very good runner. He certainly isn’t cut out to run between the tackles in the NFL, and I’d like to imagine even Gibbs’ biggest supporters would agree with that assessment. His vision is narrow and Gibbs struggles to get through holes cleanly when he does find them. He too often runs without a plan and there are too many negative runs on his tape due to hesitation upon receiving the ball or happy feet in the backfield. Gibbs is on the lighter side and his frame looks mostly filled out, so I don’t expect him to run through many tackles in the NFL. He’s relatively easy to bring down right now and he takes way too many shots; Gibbs needs to learn to contort his body to both avoid contact and brace for it. He’s also a one speed runner, so you’ll see him slip on tape when he tries to change up his tempo.

The Bottom Line: I alluded to it earlier, but my grading of running backs is heavily weighted in running ability and all of the other stuff is secondary. Naturally, I’m lower on Gibbs than the consensus. He can certainly become a weapon for an offense in the NFL, and he has his fair share of explosive plays on tape. He is somewhat of a one-year wonder though, and he did it behind an Alabama offensive line that had mile-wide lanes carved out on some of his longest runs. Gibbs’ future is certainly as the shiftier half of a running back duo, and even then I’m skeptical that he’ll withstand 10 carries per game from both efficiency and physical standpoints. It’s possible that his game evolves and he becomes a Tony Pollard type but…1) I’d say that’s like a 90th percentile outcome for Gibbs and 2) I like Pollard a lot, but I don’t even know if he was a first round player.

Grade: Late Second Round / Early Third Round

Pro Comp: Jerick McKinnon

Games Watched:

• Utah State 2022
• Texas 2022
• Arkansas 2022
• Texas A&M 2022
• Tennessee 2022
• LSU 2022

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