Position battles can be one of the more difficult things to gauge, and you don’t want to get the wrong player, or else your entire team suffers.

These three teams either added some players to the running back room or have a completely new roster of running backs. Let’s take a deep dive into who these RBs are and how to approach drafting them.

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2023 Position Battles to Watch

(Rankings are for PPR formats)

Detroit Lions Running Back

• Jahmyr Gibbs (ADP: 39 | RB 13)
• David Montgomery (ADP: 82 | RB 25)

The Lions have a completely different backfield in 2023, with D’Andre Swift being traded to the Eagles on Draft day and Jamaal Williams signing with the Saints. It started when they signed former Bears running back David Montgomery. Yet, the big surprise was when they took Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs with the 12th-overall pick.

While Montgomery has shown flashes of greatness during his time in Chicago, he hasn’t shown consistency. His best year was in 2020, with his only 1,000-rushing-yard season. Still, the bulk of that came in the final six games, where he averaged 99.7 rushing yards per game. Four of those were against teams in the bottom six in run defense. In the previous nine games, he averaged 52.4 rushing yards. In 60 career games, he had back-to-back 100-yard rushing performances just once and seven games in total.

Gibbs, on the other hand, showed pure athleticism and tremendous footwork during his time at Georgia Tech and Alabama. Last year, he averaged 6.3 yards per carry and nine of 12 games averaged over four yards per carry. He’s also shown he can contribute in the passing game, grabbing 42 catches and averaging nine yards per catch.

They didn’t draft Gibbs that high to have him play behind Montgomery. He’s the better athlete. While Montgomery should have a role in this offense, Gibbs will come out as the clear RB1 and get close to or even over 20 touches per game.

Conclusion

• Target: Jahmyr Gibbs
• Risky: David Montgomery
• Dart throw: None
• AVOID: None

More Position Battles: Players to Watch & Predictions

• Steelers WRs, Eagles RBs & Commanders WRs
• Chiefs RBs, Chiefs WRs &  Dolphins RBs
• Giants WRs & Cowboys TEs
• 49ers QBs, Buccaneers QBs & Colts QBs
• Cardinals WRs, Commanders RBs, Patriots WRs

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