Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported that some NFL teams have former Alabama football running back Jahmyr Gills as their top-rated running back over former Texas football running back Bijan Robinson ahead of the NFL Draft, and Fowler said it is not because of ability, but fit in scheme.
If a team prefers the play style of a running back like Alvin Kamara, then the Alabama football running back Jahmyr Gibbs gets priority over Texas football running back Bijan Robinson, according to Fowler. He said Robinson is still considered the best running back by most scouts he has spoken to, but Gibbs' stock is clearly high.
Robinson was an elite running back on the ground in college. He played three seasons at Texas, and rushed for over 1000 yards in his final two seasons. In 2021, Robinson put up 1127 rushing yards, and in 2022 he rushed for 1580 yards, according to sports reference. He is more of the traditional bell cow running back for teams that want to lean into their running game.
Jahmyr Gibbs did not put up anywhere near the number of rushing yards as Robinson did, but he did produce more in the receiving game, which makes sense given Fowler's comments about teams preferring an Alvin Kamara-like play style. Gibbs recorded 465 receiving yards in 2021, and 444 receiving yards in 2022, according to sports reference. Robinson's 314 receiving yards in 2022 was the highest of his college career.
It will be interesting to see where both Gibbs and Robinson get selected in this week's NFL Draft. It is unknown what teams have Gibbs ahead of Robinson on their board, and will be an intriguing subplot of the draft to see what running back is off the board first.