Jahmyr Gibbs

Jahmyr Gibbs 2023 Fantasy Football Rookie Profile

Overview

Jahmyr Gibbs is a junior running back prospect from the University of Alabama.

Gibbs broke out as a true freshman at Georgia Institute of Technology during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, racking up 763 yards and seven total TDs on 89 rush attempts and 24 receptions in just seven games for the Yellow Jackets. He followed that freshman campaign by finishing third in the nation with 1,800 all-purpose yards (1,211 offensive yards and 589 return yards) and six TDs as a sophomore for the 3-9 Yellow Jackets.

Gibbs transferred to Alabama prior to his junior season, leaving behind a prolific individual stint in Atlanta for a shot at a national title in Tuscaloosa. At Alabama, Gibbs continued his ascent to RB stardom with 1,370 offensive yards and 10 total TDs for the Crimson Tide, leading the team in receptions for the season. Gibbs capped off his collegiate career with 142 yards on 17 offensive touches in a 45-20 win against ninth-ranked Kansas State University in the All-State Sugar Bowl.

Throughout his three-year college career, Gibbs posted an elite 93rd percentile RB target share of 14.7 percent, per Player Profiler.

Pros

• Superb pass-catcher and route runner
• Elite acceleration/burst and top-end speed
• Patient runner with good vision and decision-making at the line of scrimmage
• Short-area quickness and change of direction in the open field
• Understands leverage and takes effective angles to make defenders miss
• Dynamic in the kick/punt return game

Cons

• Doesn’t profile as a bell cow back at the NFL level due to his size
• Willing pass-blocker, but gets overwhelmed by larger defenders in pass protection
• Wins in short yardage with shiftiness more often than strength
• Doesn’t consistently break tackles in the backfield if caught behind the line of scrimmage

Jahmyr Gibbs Player Comparison

Jamaal Charles (RB, Kansas City Chiefs)

It’s hard not to conjure flashbacks of Jamaal Charles leaving defenders in his dust when you sit down to watch Gibbs. Like Charles, Gibbs is an electric player who threatens to break off a game-changing play whenever he touches the ball. At 5-foot-11 and 200 pounds, Gibbs has a similar frame to the 5-foot-11, 199-pound Charles. Gibbs also has the potential to post a 40-yard dash that could rival or even best the 4.38 mark set by the former Chiefs legend. He is rumored to have run a 4.32 in the 40-yard dash as a freshman at Georgia Tech.

Gibbs doesn’t often overpower defenders at the line of scrimmage but has the vision and burst to find a crease and break open long runs on plays of any down and distance. In space, Gibbs is electric, craftily utilizing his blockers and manipulating the defenders’ leverage to weave between opposing players for large-chunk gains.

Jahmyr Gibbs Fantasy Football Projection

Gibbs seems destined to be drafted as one of the top three to five RBs off the board during the NFL Draft. Fantasy analysts and draft pundits alike seem keen on Gibbs. Often mocked as a late day one or early day two selection, he projects to be a dynamic 1A running back in a committee rather than a three-down workhorse. That is exactly the type of role he needs to excel.

Gibbs is a reliable route runner and gifted pass catcher at the RB position. He will likely earn a large portion of his touches at the NFL level through the air via dump-off passes, or designed shorter-yardage pass plays. Like Alvin Kamara during his first five NFL seasons or Tony Pollard in his breakout 2022 season, Gibbs would do best in an offense that limited his rush attempts to an average of 10-15 per game while peppering him with a steady diet of targets in space. This type of workload would be tantalizing for fantasy managers in Points Per Reception (PPR) leagues.

In dynasty, Gibbs will likely cost managers a top-three rookie pick in 1QB leagues or a top-five rookie pick in superflex formats. However, unless he lands in a prime landing spot like the Chiefs or Dolphins or gets round-one draft capital, he will likely settle in at a more reasonable cost in redraft leagues. Currently, with a late fifth-round Average Draft Position (ADP) in Underdog best ball drafts, Gibbs is the type of back that can emerge from the RB dead zone as a true league-winner.

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