Jahmyr Gibbs has been an elite RB1 back-to-back seasons despite ceding considerable touches to David Montgomery. Now with the backfield to himself, it’s fair to argue no non-quarterback has a higher ceiling than No. 0 in the Detroit Lions backfield. The only question for fantasy football managers is whether Gibbs should go No. 1 or No. 2 in 2026 drafts.
Should You Draft Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs in Fantasy Football?
There aren’t enough superlatives to describe the first three years of Gibbs’ career. He averaged 16.1 fantasy points per game as a rookie on 253 opportunities. His production spiked to 21.3 and 21.6 PPG the next two years with a sizable increase in chances to touch the ball (313 and 320), but still not elite volume.
Gibbs has averaged at least 5.0 yards per carry every year of his career. He’s among the league leaders in yards created per touch and evaded tackles per touch. You don’t need me to tell you this is one of the most talented players in the NFL.
In each of his first three seasons, Gibbs shared a backfield with Montgomery. The veteran was the starter for the first two before that flipped last season, as Gibbs became undeniable. But Montgomery was still involved, earning 187 opportunities and scoring eight touchdowns. The latter is where Gibbs’ true upside lies going forward.
Gibbs has been a prolific touchdown scorer even in the timeshare. He has 38 touchdowns over his last two seasons. Over that span, Montgomery has stolen 20 of them. It goes without saying that no one would complain if Gibbs continued to score 18-20 touchdowns per season. However, Montgomery’s scoring pace suggests there’s plenty of room for improvement, which is a scary thought for a guy who already doesn’t have much trouble finding the end zone.
Last season, Gibbs had 10 carries inside the five-yard line. Montgomery had 16. Here are some running backs who carried the ball more times inside the five than Gibbs: Sean Tucker, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Chris Rodriguez, Blake Corum, and Kareem Hunt. Not exactly world beaters. Gibbs is posting elite RB1 numbers and scoring touchdowns without being used as the primary goal-line option. That’s incredible. What happens if Gibbs gets true feature back usage going forward?
Gibbs’ Redraft Fantasy Football Value
The No. 1 overall pick in every 1QB fantasy draft should be Gibbs or Bijan Robinson. Our consensus rankings have it split, with Katz putting Gibbs at 1 and Soppe putting Bijan at 1. There’s no wrong answer. By the time any fantasy draft gets to the third pick, both running backs should be gone.
The argument in favor of Robinson is the usage. He’s never missed a game in his career. He’s never even on the injury report. He has true feature-back size at 215 pounds. We’ve gotten consecutive 20+ PPG seasons despite playing on the vastly inferior offense while scoring far fewer touchdowns.
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The argument in favor of Gibbs is that he’s on the superior offense, which is why he’s able to score more even with a guy like Montgomery by his side. With Montgomery gone, the ceiling is incalculable.
Isiah Pacheco was signed to play the Montgomery role. He will be the RB2 and certainly see his fair share of touches. But he is not as talented as Montgomery. This is a downgrade. The Lions had a compelling reason to give Montgomery series to himself. That will not exist with Pacheco. His role will be more to give Gibbs a breather than to serve as Sonic’s new Knuckles. The potential exists for Gibbs to post a season that draws comparisons to 2006 LaDainian Tomlinson.
Gibbs vs. Robinson is a fun debate to have, but the answer isn’t all that important. There is no wrong answer. Take Gibbs no later than the second overall pick.
Gibbs’ Dynasty Fantasy Football Value
The dynasty debate is similarly unimportant, but it does lean slightly in Robinson’s favor. There’s no age difference between Robinson and Gibbs, with both 24 years old and separated by a month. The debate is whether it’s more prudent to take a similarly aged wide receiver. That comes down to personal preference in how you construct your dynasty roster.
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Gibbs is clearly a top two dynasty running back and a top five non-QB. Even in Superflex formats, there is an argument to be made for him as the No. 1 overall player, given that Josh Allen is already 30 years old.
We have Gibbs as the No. 5 overall player, but no No. 10 overall in Superflex. He’s the RB2 regardless, so this “lower” ranking comes down to positional value. Gibbs likely has 5-7 elite years left, which is about the same number we can project for Robinson, Ja’Marr Chase, and Puka Nacua. If you want to take Gibbs over both of them, you will get no pushback over here.
In Superflex, it comes down to how many quarterbacks you’re willing to take over the best running back. That is entirely up to you.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.