Former Titans GM reveals his 2023 'dream scenario' that could have paired Jahmyr Gibbs and Derrick Henry

Jahmyr Gibbs of the Detroit Lions has established himself as one of the best running backs in the NFL. He has already scored 10 total touchdowns this season, making him the first player since Odell Beckham Jr. to begin a career with three straight seasons of double-digit touchdowns. 

Gibbs' speed and ability after the catch make him one of the most dangerous weapons in the NFL, and no player has scored more touchdowns than him since he entered the league in 2023 (41). However, when the Lions selected Gibbs at No. 12 overall that year, not everyone was excited about the pick.

Gibbs was viewed by many mock draft artists as a fringe first-rounder, so when Detroit traded down from the No. 6 overall pick to No. 12 and selected a running back, it was pretty shocking. As it turns out, Lions general manager Brad Holmes knew Gibbs was going to be a name several teams were targeting somewhere in the first round, so he wasn't going to wait around and try his luck.

During a recent episode of CBS Sports' "With the First Pick" podcast with Ryan Wilson, former Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon revealed that his dream scenario in 2023 was to find a way to pair Gibbs with his star running, Derrick Henry, by trading back from the No. 11 overall pick. 

"My dream scenario was to be able to trade back, pick up an additional second-round pick and then package the two second-round picks and trade back into the bottom of the first (round) to take Jahmyr Gibbs," Carthon said. "Because I thought just adding a player with that type of explosiveness makes you instantly explosive on offense, and you talk about a one-two punch of Jahmyr Gibbs and Derrick Henry at the time, that would have been a problem." 

Carthon's "dream scenario" had a couple of issues, however. It quickly became clear that Gibbs was not going to fall into the late stages of the first round, because the Lions selected him directly after the Titans used the No. 11 overall pick on offensive guard Peter Skoronski. Carthon said he wasn't bold enough to take Gibbs with that No. 11 overall pick.  

Carthon also obviously didn't trade down. He said that if Bijan Robinson, Jalen Carter, Darnell Wright or Skoronski were available at No. 11, it would be hard for Tennessee to move off that pick. Robinson went No. 8 overall to the Atlanta Falcons, Carter went No. 9 to the Philadelphia Eagles and Wright went to the Chicago Bears at No. 10. Tennessee then took Skoronski at No. 11, followed by Gibbs at No. 12. 

Henry and Gibbs could have been a historic "thunder and lightning" duo. The 2023 season was Henry's last in Tennessee, and he recorded his fifth career season of 1,000 rushing yards and double-digit touchdowns. He hasn't slowed down much since turning 30-years-old with the Baltimore Ravens, as Henry rushed for 1,921 yards and a league-leading 16 touchdowns last year, and has racked up 807 rushing yards and seven touchdowns through 10 games this season.