Would the Cincinnati Bengals consider taking a running back with the 28th pick in Thursday's first round of the 2023 NFL draft in Kansas City?
Mock drafts this week from NFL.com's Eric Edholm and NBC Sports NFL analyst Chris Simms have the Bengals selecting Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs 28th overall, and The Enquirer's Kelsey Conway reported Monday via Twitter that she's heard Gibbs is expected to be a first-round pick.
What to know about the former Crimson Tide and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets running back:
Jahmyr Gibbs led Alabama in rushing yards AND receptions.
Many expect the Bengals to select a running back at some point during the upcoming draft (regardless of Joe Mixon's future with the team). If they want one who potentially could play a significant role in the receiving game, look no further than Gibbs, who not only led Alabama with 926 rushing yards in 12 games (11 starts) last season, but also led the team with 44 receptions for 444 yards.
Gibbs can return kicks too.
Gibbs earned third-team Associated Press All-American honors as an all-purpose player last season, thanks in part to 13 kick returns for 258 yards, an average of 19.8 yards per return. In two seasons at Georgia Tech, he averaged 25.6 yards per return on 31 returns, including a touchdown. He was named 2020 honorable mention All-ACC kick returner as a freshman for the Yellow Jackets and second-team All-ACC kick returner as a sophomore before he transferred to Bama.
NFL.com's Lance Zierlein considers Alvin Kamara to be Gibbs' NFL comparison.
"While Gibbs might not be the engine of an NFL running game, he's more than capable of adding juice to the offense," Zierlein wrote in Gibbs' NFL.com draft profile. "He's a slasher who can stretch defenses wide, and he has the wiggle to elude tacklers in space. However, he could see his effectiveness diminished inside. Gibbs might be better off with a more measured carry count as an RB2, but his versatility and pass-catching prowess will give creative play-callers an opportunity to exploit certain personnel groupings and find mismatches in space.
SI.com's Albert Breer wrote Monday that the Kansas City Chiefs have shown interest in Gibbs.
"Listening to other talk about Gibbs' fit with Mahomes and Reid can be convincing," Breer wrote. "'I wouldn't want to be in the AFC West,' said one NFC exec, 'if Gibbs winds up in Kansas City.'"
The Chiefs' first pick in Thursday's draft is 31st overall.
Pro Football Talk's Peter King wrote that some teams like Gibbs better than Bijan Robinson.
Many expect Texas running back Robinson to be among the top 10 players selected on Thursday. But King believes some teams prefer Gibbs.
"As good as Robinson was as a collegian, Gibbs has a few teams in this draft that liked him over Robinson for the NFL," King wrote Monday.
King's mock draft has the Philadelphia Eagles taking Gibbs 30th, two picks after the Bengals take Oregon State tight end Luke Musgrave.
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