One of the benefits (and drawbacks) of being a good, buzzy teams is that national media offers nearly unlimited attention and coverage. We’re certainly seeing that with the Detroit Lions this year, as you can find a national outlet at every single training camp practice this offseason.

On Tuesday, it was Sports Illustrated senior writer Conor Orr, who was in New Jersey to catch joint practices between the Lions and New York Giants. And while he—like everyone else—marveled at the physical practice and endless scrums—he filed his observations with a far more interesting proclamation:

After watching Gibbs at practice and speaking to him afterwards, Orr believes Gibbs is close to being a three-down back. He talks about a solid rep from Gibbs in pass protection against pass rushing phenom Brian Burns. But most importantly, he noted how just the threat of Gibbs is already causing defenses to play against the Lions differently.

“… it was stunning to see him leak out of the backfield to the left and watch the entirety of the Giants defense shift toward the running back,” Orr wrote. “Remember, Sam LaPorta, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams are on the field, too.”

Last year, Gibbs rushed for 945 yards (5.2 YPC), amassed just 316 receiving yards, and only played in 57 percent of the Lions’ offensive snaps. But as the Lions start to incorporate the second-year running back into a wider variety of roles, he’ll undoubtedly become a bigger feature of the offense—even though the Lions have no intention of moving away from fellow back David Montgomery.

“… his statistical ceiling is immense,” Orr wrote.

Read all of Orr’s observations from Lions vs. Giants joint practices here.

Onto the rest of today’s Notes:

• Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports, who was out at Lions camp last week, also has an article detailing why Gibbs’ 2024 season could be special.
• Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Jared Goff joined the “Bussin’ with the Boys” podcast for an entertaining hour of content:

• As Brandon Aiyuk trade rumors swirl and the Dallas Cowboys continue to penny pinch, it’s always a good reminder that the Lions avoided all of the offseason drama in regards to contractual disputes.
• Some highlights from Day 2 of Lions-Giants practice, including a Brian Branch INT:

• It’s easy to forget how monumental Thursday’s preseason game will be for some rookies, as it’ll be their first NFL action. Lions cornerback Ennis Rakestraw talked to Dan Miller about how it will be a dream realized. I can’t find the full interview, but SI.com has quotes.
• Life Pro Tip: Don’t give DJ Reader the football and ask 25 10-year-olds to try and tackle him.