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Barry Sanders on Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs: 'I'm assuming' he'll break my TD record
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- Barry Sanders on Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs: 'I'm assuming' he'll break my TD record
Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs is one of only five players in NFL history to have scored at least 40 touchdowns before their 24th birthday.
The other four are Hall-of-Famers: running back Jim Brown (42), running back Emmitt Smith (43), wide receiver Randy Moss (43) and Lions legend Barry Sanders – who has the record at 47 touchdowns before turning 24. But Sanders doesn't think he'll have that record for very long.
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"I'm assuming that he'll probably get the record," Sanders said in an interview with the Free Press on Wednesday, Nov. 18.
We caught up with the Hall-of-Fame running back during his promotional tour with BetMGM to discuss the 2025 Lions, Gibbs, the state of running backs in the NFL and the one player that left him starstruck on the football field.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Barry Sanders on the 2025 Lions
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell jokes around with former Detroit Lions RB and hall of fame inductee Barry Sanders during the joint practice with the Miami Dolphins at the Lions headquarters and training facility in Allen Park, Thursday, Aug. 14 2025
Christian Romo:What have been your impressions of the Lions so far this season?
Barry Sanders:You know, I'm a little nervous. Three weeks ago, we looked like we had a firm grasp on the division race, and now it's looking a little shaky, but I think we're fine. I think we knew we had a tough schedule this year, and we knew that Sunday's game ( a 16-9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles ), I mean, that's probably one of those games most fans had circled on their calendar.
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I still feel pretty good about it. This team is built for the long haul. They understand what it takes to win in this division, in this league, and they knew it wasn't going to be a cake walk. And I feel like the ( Chicago ) Bears should be more concerned about us than we are them, considering how the first game went.
CR:It's been such an odd shakeup in the division race this year. Does this remind you of any NFC North race that you had while you were playing?
BS:I don't know about a specific year, but I would say just the sense that it's always very unpredictable. There were many years where it went down to the last week. I remember there being 10-win teams that didn't make it (to the playoffs) just because it was that competitive.
So there's a lot left to be decided, I guess is what I'm trying to say ... I definitely would take this team with this talent and this coach in this division at this point.
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On Jahmyr Gibbs ' quest to break the touchdown record
Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (0) looks on during warmup ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Sunday, November 16, 2025.
CR:There's this stat that's been thrown around the last few games, I'm sure you've already seen it: Jahmyr Gibbs scoring 41 touchdowns before the age of 24. The people on that list – it's you, it's Randy Moss, it's Jim Brown, it's Emmitt Smith. It's three of the greatest running backs of all time and one of the two greatest receivers of all time. What does that say about Jahmyr's contribution to the offense, and what do you think his ceiling is as a running back?
BS:It really highlights how dynamic of a player he is, and to go along with the kind of offensive football we've seen over the last three, four years. And certainly, since he's been here in his third season, he's really coming into his prime.
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You see the suddenness in his game, the quickness, the speed, the anticipation. He has those kinds of skills that defenses absolutely have to account for, so he's just a really dynamic player.
A lot of people questioned picking a running back that high in the draft, but he's really proven how much he's worth with big play after big play that he's been able to make. I'm assuming that he'll probably get the record. How old is he? 23?
CR:He turns 24 next March, which means he'll have the rest of the regular season to hit that mark.
BS:Yes, I'm assuming he'll get it, you know? It's fun watching him (and Lions running back David Montgomery ) play as someone in my position, who always watched running backs from the time I was a kid. He has a just a great, fantastic skill set. He's one of those guys where it's just hard not to watch him when he gets the ball. You just feel like something good is going to happen.
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On how NFL teams value running backs today
Detroit Lions first-round draft pick Jahmyr Gibbs from Alabama talks with reporters during the players' introductory news conference at team headquarters in Allen Park on Friday, April 28, 2023.
CR:When Gibbs was selected 12th overall, that was something that a lot of NFL pundits and even a lot of Lions fans were questioning, "Why would you take a running back that high?"
What's your perspective on how running backs are valued in today's NFL, how they're treated with regards to draft position and contract negotiations?
BS:It's kind of a complex question, because you gotta do your homework and make sure that you get in the player that you think you are going (to get). I guess that's even more so with running backs.
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Because obviously there's been situations like Saquon Barkley going to New York and them not really valuing his skill set and what he brings to the table, and trying to see him as sort of a representative of how the NFL is going away from running backs and into sort of this passing-oriented game.
Even though there has been a trend away from maybe one running back carrying the bulk of the load, you still see how valuable someone like a Jahmyr Gibbs is, or like a Jonathan Taylor is, or Saquon Barkley. You see how valuable those those guys are. They're real players, and they're real assets and they're not expendable.
On the player that left him starstruck
Barry Sanders was masterful when it came to eluding opposing defenses, as he did during a first-quarter touchdown run against the Cleveland Browns at the Pontiac Silverdome, as captured by a Detroit Free Press photograph on Oct. 8, 1995. But when it came to his relationship with former Detroit Lions' Director of Security Allen "Jocko" Hughes, Sanders had no problem slowing down to talk to a gentleman, who was respected throughout the organization. Sanders' relationship with Hughes became known nationally during the summer of 1999.
CR:There was a really interesting exchange between Jahmyr and Saquon at the end of the Eagles game. Both of them exchanged jerseys, and after the game Jahmyr said that Saquon was someone that he looked up to. I'm curious, was there someone that did anything like that for you in the pros, someone especially early on in your career, where you were like, "wow, I can't believe I'm sharing the field with this person."
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BS:Oh, absolutely, when I had the chance, to play against Marcus Allen, I think I would have felt that way. It just so happened that Marcus Allen and Bo Jackson were on the same team.
CR:So this is Raiders Marcus Allen, not Chiefs Marcus Allen?
BS:But also Chiefs Marcus Allen!
But the first time that I would have been on the same field with Marcus Allen would have been '91 Raiders vs Lions, and I think that was when the whole drama was going on with (team owner) Al Davis and Marcus Allen, and they brought in Bo Jackson.
As far as sharing the same field, Marcus Allen would have been there, and then Eric Dickerson, certainly been up there. Walter Payton had retired a few years before I got to Detroit, but I was a big Raiders fan growing up, big Marcus Allen fan growing up.
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On his favorite Thanksgiving food
CR:It's a little bit off-topic, but Thanksgiving is coming up. What's the dish that you look forward to eating the most? And what's the one that's, like, get it off the table?
BS:I know I probably should say turkey or stuffing or something like that, but a good sweet potato pie – you just can't beat it. I remember as a kid thinking, "Why can't we have this year round?" Why do we have to wait until Thanksgiving?
And then probably one that you can remove quickly from the table is cranberry sauce. Really, I don't see the point.
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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Barry Sanders talks Detroit Lions football and NFL running backs
