The Detroit Lions have signed their top draft pick.
Running back Jahmyr Gibbs signed his four-year contract on Monday, days before the Lions are scheduled to open training camp.
Gibbs, the No. 12 pick of April’s draft, received a slotted four-year contract worth $17.845 million. The deal is fully guaranteed, includes a signing bonus of $9.978 million and a team option for 2027.
Gibbs is expected to play a significant role on offense this fall for a Lions team that finished fifth in the NFL in scoring last year.
In voluntary workouts and mandatory minicamp this spring, Gibbs worked primarily with the first-team offense at running back, where he saw significant time split out wide, with David Montgomery out with a leg injury.
The Lions signed Montgomery to a three-year, $18 million deal in free agency this spring. He and Gibbs are expected to give the team a 1-2 punch in the backfield similar to what Jamaal Williams and D’Andre Swift provided last year when the Lions finished 11th in the NFL in rushing.
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“I don’t know if I can compare them to last year right now,” Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said earlier this month. “I mean, we’ve only been on the field here for a few weeks and we don’t even have pads on. But what I can say about that room is we have a lot of really hard workers.”
Gibbs played two seasons at Georgia Tech before transferring to Alabama last season, where he finished as one of the top dual-threat running backs in college football.
He led Alabama in rushing yards (926), receptions (44 for 444 yards) and touchdowns (10) last season, and finished his college career with nearly 4,400 all-purpose yards.
“I love how they use me here,” Gibbs said last week. “That’s something I’ve been used to throughout high school, when I was at Tech and when I was Bama. So I’m pretty used to being all around and learning different routes and different concepts and stuff.”
The Lions made Gibbs their highest-drafted running back since Barry Sanders went No. 3 overall in 1989, and their first first-round pick at the position since Jahvid Best in 2010.
Gibbs and Bijan Robinson, who went No. 8 overall to the Allanta Falcons, were the first running backs to go inside the top 20 since Saquon Barkley was the second pick of the 2018 draft.
The Lions have signed eight of their nine draft picks, including first-round pick Jack Campbell, No. 18 overall. Second-round choice Brian Branch, the No. 45 overall pick, is the Lions’ only unsigned draft choice.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.