Detroit Lions Superstar ‘Knew For A Fact’ Dallas Cowboys Were Going To Get Him

The Detroit Lions are the most dominant team in the NFC right now.

With the second half of the 2024 NFL season underway, Dan Campbell’s team looks nearly unstoppable, thriving on offense while playing a hard-nosed, stifling brand of defense.

On offense, Jared Goff is playing the best football of his NFL career and has an arsenal of weapons at his disposal. Despite a tough performance last week against the Texans where Goff threw five interceptions, the Lions currently have the second-highest scoring offense in the NFL, averaging 31.6 points per game for the season.

Goff currently has thrown for 2,080 yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions so far in 2024.

But while the Detroit Lions passing attack is enough to give opposing defensive coordinators nightmares, their rushing attack of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs have emerged as one of the top running back tandems in the NFL.

Gibbs is building on a stellar rookie campaign. Gibbs has been one of the top running  backs in the entire NFL across the entirety of his career the last season and a half. He ranks inside the top 10 of NFL running backs in rushing yards (1,672, 10th), yards per carry (5.5, second), rushing touchdowns (17, fifth), scrimmage yards (2,190, eighth), scrimmage yards per touch (5.8, third) and scrimmage touchdowns (19, eighth) even though his 304 career carries are the 20th most in the league since 2023 while his 378 career touches are 18th in the NFL.

And while the Lions feel like the perfect fit for the shifty running back who is also a weapon in the passing game, Gibbs recently revealed how close he was to landing with another NFC team who could really use a player of his caliber right now.

Detroit Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs Says He Knew The Dallas Cowboys Were Going To Draft Him

Earlier this week, Gibbs joined the “Richard Sherman Podcast” and told the former NFL star cornerback he didn’t expect to land in Detroit in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Lions took the former Alabama superstar with the 12th overall pick in the first round and Gibbs admits he didn’t expect to be drafted that high.

“To Detroit, no I really didn’t [expect to go there]. I knew they liked me, but you know when you go on a visit, it seems like they all like you,” Gibbs told retired Super Bowl champion cornerback Richard Sherman on “The Richard Sherman Podcast” on Thursday.

The Detroit Lions standout running back then revealed he knew the Dallas Cowboys were going to take him if he was on the board at 26 and heard rumors the Bengals were planning to move up to take him if he was available around pick No. 18.

“It was crazy I knew for a fact Dallas was going to get me at 26 if I was still there, and a couple other places like Cincinnati was going to get me. I think they [the Bengals] were going to trade up to like 18 or something around that range. I didn’t think I was going to go 12th.”

The Cowboys could absolutely use a running back of Gibbs’ caliber right about now.

Instead of addressing the departure of Tony Pollard in the offseason by signing a free agent staring RB or drafting one in the offseason, Jerry Jones opted to bring back Zeke Elliott — who has done almost nothing for the team this season — while leaning on journeymen Rico Dowdle as the starting ball-carrier.

As it stands, the Dallas Cowboys are ranked No. 31 in the NFL in rushing offense, averaging just 3.8 yards per carry and less than 84 yards per game on the ground.

Gibbs doesn’t look like he’s slowing down anytime soon for the Detroit Lions, but the Cowboys are probably wishing they could have snagged him in last year’s draft.