Would the Lions let Jahmyr Gibbs return kickoffs?

Could the Detroit Lions use their first-round draft choice to return kickoffs during his rookie season?

Running back Justin Jackson served as the NFL team’s primary kickoff returner in 2022, when he averaged 26.7 yards on 23 returns. But Jackson remains an unsigned free agent this offseason.

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Across the 2020 and 2021 seasons at Georgia Tech and the 2022 season at Alabama, running back Jahmyr Gibbs returned 44 kickoffs for a 23.9-yard average and one touchdown.

Detroit special-teams coordinator Dave Fipp would like to put the 12th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft deep on kickoffs, but he knows the Lions have other priorities with Gibbs, who had 926 yards and seven touchdowns on 151 rushing attempts and 444 yards and three touchdowns on 44 receptions for the Crimson Tide last season.

“In terms of Gibbs, I think again, it’s going to come down to kind of his role on offense and how we’re using him and all that,” Fipp said on Thursday. “Obviously, he’s a weapon back there. He was a great college returner at Georgia Tech and Alabama, so I think that’s definitely a possibility that he does help us to some degree. To what level that is, whether that’s like part-time situationally or full-time, so there’s a lot of different options there with him.”

Gibbs joined the Lions after running back Jamaal Williams departed Detroit for the New Orleans Saints in free agency. Williams ran for 1,066 yards on 262 carries and led the NFL with 17 rushing touchdowns last season for the Lions.

Two days after selecting Gibbs, Detroit traded running back D’Andre Swift to the Philadelphia Eagles. Swift ran for 542 yards and five touchdowns on 99 carries and caught 48 passes for 389 yards and three touchdowns in 2022.

In addition to adding Gibbs to the backfield, Detroit signed running back David Montgomery as a free agent. He had 801 yards and five touchdowns on 201 carries for the Chicago Bears last season. In his four seasons in Chicago, Montgomery ran for 3,609 yards and 26 touchdowns.

The Lions have another former Alabama kickoff returner on their roster who also joined Detroit as the 12th player picked in the draft after one season with the Crimson Tide. Wide receiver Jameson Williams was the co-SEC Special Teams Player of the Year in 2021 while returning 10 kickoffs for a 35.2-yard average and two touchdowns for the Crimson Tide.

But the special-teams spot that continues to come up with Williams is gunner.

As Williams neared his comeback from a torn anterior cruciate ligament that caused him to miss the first 11 games of his rookie season, Lions coaches talked about using Williams on the punt-coverage unit as a way to break him into the NFL.

But in his six games in 2022, Williams was on the field for only one special-teams play.

“At the end of the day for us, it’s what gives our football team the best chance to win the game,” Fipp said about the possibility of regular duty for Williams at gunner. “Our player’s role on special teams is largely based off his role on offense or defense. The more they play on offense or defense, the less they play on special teams. The less they play on offense or defense, the more they play on special teams. I’m sure that will hold up for him, too, depending on his role.”

Williams won’t play any role for Detroit in the first six games of the 2023 season. He will be serving an NFL-imposed suspension for violating the league’s gambling policy.

Detroit is in the final portion of its offseason program, when teams are allowed to conduct 10 days of organized team practice activity, usually referred to as OTAs. The Lions held their first three OTA practices last week and will be back on the field from Wednesday through Friday this week. No contact work is permitted during these practices, but teams can expand their offseason workouts to include 7-on-7, 9-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills.

A mandatory minicamp also can be held during this period, which Detroit has scheduled for June 6-8.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.