Both St. Brown and Gibbs will be focal points of Detroit’s offense next season.
If there are two players on offense for the Detroit Lions that fans are more excited to see play this upcoming season, it is wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and running back Jahmyr Gibbs. Funny enough, St. Brown challenged Gibbs to a fun challenge where he if he records 1,000 receiving yards, he would buy him whatever he wants.
This was reported by Lions reporter Eric Woodyard of ESPN who said that the challenge was posed earlier this week where a response from Gibbs was given Friday. He would say confidently that he’s going to win and maybe even “get a house” per Woodyard on his X, formerly Twitter, account.
“Earlier this week, Amon-Ra St. Brown challenged #Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs to get 1,000 yards receiving and rushing in the same season and he will buy him anything he wants,” Woodyard wrote. “Gibbs says he’s holding him to that. ‘I’m gonna break his bank,’ he told ESPN. He said he ‘might get a house.’”
While that mark is relatively easy to reach for a player like St. Brown who last season caught 119 passes for 1,515 yards and 10 touchdowns, it might not be as simple for Gibbs. For one, he’s a running back as even the best dual-threat players at the position don’t usually get it and he is also heading into his sophomore year with Detroit where last season, he had 52 catches for 316 yards with one score.
Gibbs says St. Brown has been helping him with pass-catching on Lions
Still, the production could go very well go up as Gibbs has the talent to do so, plus he has been reportedly working with St. Brown and others in the offseason in catching the ball. He would even credit St. Brown saying that if he needs any advice, “I know he’ll be there for me” according to the team’s website.
“He’s always a guy who’s willing to help his team. He wants to win, and we all want to win and overall, he’s a great person, so whatever I need I’ll ask, and I know he’ll be there for me,” Gibbs said of St. Brown.
Gibbs was selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft coming out of the University of Alabama where besides being in a committee with David Montgomery, he still showed his spark as he rushed for 945 yards and 10 touchdowns. If there is someone who is excited to see Gibbs grow, it’s Lions head coach Dan Campbell.
“You’re going into Year 2 and get a little bit better at your craft,” Campbell said about Gibbs and other players heading into their second seasons. “And all those guys, I said it the other day, are jockeying for opportunities for production. The guys that we can trust and count on are going to make plays for us are going to get more opportunities to make plays for us, so those two (Gibbs and tight end Sam LaPorta) fall into that boat.”
Detroit is looking to build off of a relatively successful season as they went 12-5 which won them the NFC North before being eliminated by the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game. The Lions open up the season against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, Sept. 8.