During Detroit’s offseason program, the Lions saw a lot they liked about their 2023 first-round draft choice, Jahmyr Gibbs. But after watching the former Alabama running back run and catch in the no-contact workouts, the Detroit coaching staff wants to see one more thing from Gibbs in training camp.

“Be physical,” said Scottie Montgomery, the Lions’ running-backs coach and assistant head coach, during the final week of Detroit’ offseason practices. “Just show physicality in every sense. I know that this guy’s skill set from a speed, quickness, mental – I want him to be physical. If you’re a tough team, you don’t get toughness from the big guys. The big guys are going to be tough. If you’re a tough team, your small guys are tough.”

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Gibbs weighed 199 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine in March. But Montgomery “absolutely” had the final quality that the Lions are waiting to see.

“You can’t play at the University of Alabama if you don’t have a level of physicality to you,” Montgomery said. “Let’s just be honest. I think they practice as hard and physical with multiple fields going on at one time. Coach (Nick Saban) does a good job of keeping a drill going and coaching different drills, but also making guys understand that part of the competitive process is just not this pajamas and running around. It’s actually putting pads on one another, so you go down there and play and you play at a high level and you get great marks from coach Saban, that’s a good start for physicality.”

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Montgomery said the Lions had asked Gibbs to learn more this offseason than they would the average rookie running back because they expect to use him in multiple roles right from the start.

“He does have a little bit more than a normal back who would be coming in,” Montgomery said. “But thankfully, he’s done it before.”

Gibbs ran for 926 yards and seven touchdowns on 151 carries, caught 44 passes for 444 yards and three touchdowns and returned 13 kickoffs for a 19.8-yard average for the Crimson Tide in 2022.

“The skill set that he was able to develop under coach Saban and the rest of those guys, what it does is they’re in a professional-style offense,” Montgomery said. “He’s been around professional activity as far as it comes to coaching and with the level of play.”

Detroit seems particularly interested in using Gibbs as a pass receiver out of the backfield.

“He has tremendous short-area quickness, which will allow him to create space,” Montgomery said. “But a lot of guys have short-area quickness to create space. But he has short-area quickness and long speed, so when you have that short-area quickness and long speed, those 6-, 7-, 8-, 9-yard plays can quickly turn into explosives. So that’s one of the things that we’ve seen. What we’ve also seen from him is that in the run game, his vision is pretty spectacular right now.

“Now when the bullets start flying, he’s going to have to take it to another level, but we’re really intrigued about where he is vision-wise, and then just in the pass game, being able to create some explosives for us.”

Detroit has overhauled its backfield this offseason. The Lions lost running back Jamaal Williams in free agency to the New Orleans Saints after he led the NFL with 17 touchdown runs in 2022. Williams ran for 1,066 yards on 262 carries and caught 12 passes for 73 yards last season.

Detroit traded running back D’Andre Swift to the Philadelphia Eagles after drafting Gibbs. Swift had 542 yards and five touchdowns on 99 rushing attempts and 389 yards and three touchdowns on 48 receptions in 2022.

In addition to drafting Gibbs in April, the Lions picked up 224-pound running back David Montgomery in free agency in March. A former 1,000-yard rusher, Montgomery had 801 yards and five touchdowns on 201 rushing attempts and 316 yards and one touchdown on 34 receptions.

Scottie Montgomery said the two new running backs gave Detroit “good contrast” at the position.

“Two different types of skill sets,” Montgomery said. “Really impressed with the way they’ve taken to the playbook. I think that speaks volumes to the level of professionalism. We knew that David would have that just with his history. And now seeing Jah come in with that same level of professionalism. Kind of knew that he would have it because of his history over the last few years as well. Overall, mentally, two thumbs up.

“Physically, both flashed on what we thought they could do. I thought Jah started to come on there at the end just with the overall understanding of what we want him to do in the offense, but also the details that comes with doing multiple deals, whether it be in protection, whether it be in the run game or whether it be in the pass game.”

As a surprising choice at No. 12 in the 2023 NFL Draft, Gibbs figures to be under a little extra scrutiny early in his NFL career.

“You can’t ride the ebb and flow,” Montgomery said of his outlook for Gibbs. “You just got to stay calm. He’s not going to perform as well as some people would think that he should, and he’s not going to perform as low as some people think he’s going to be, so we’re going to try to support him in a way, and if we can just keep him involved academically in the football part of it, it’s very hard to get out of line if you’re doing what you’re supposed to do on a daily basis.

“So we’re going to take care of him, but we’re also going to make it hard for him. It’s tough. Football is tough. The game is tough. And you have to deal with some of the criticism when it comes with it, but you also have to deal with some of the success, and he’s going to have both this year.”

Detroit’s rookies are scheduled to report to the team’s training center in Allen Park, Michigan, on July 19. The Lions kick off their three-game preseason schedule on Aug. 11, when the New York Giants visit Ford Field.

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