Fantasy football fans are going to want to push Jahmyr Gibbs up a spot or two on their rankings. That is if he is not already number one. With David Montgomery traded to the Houston Texans, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell confirmed that Gibbs is going to get much more work in 2026. Campbell called Gibbs the team’s bell cow back and said that they are going to hang their hat on him.
Campbell is not the type to mince words, nor is he someone who walks back comments made to the media. Even though the team signed Isiah Pacheco, they are not giving him the same work share that Montgomery had in the past. Campbell was adamant that Gibbs was going to get a heavy dose of usage this year, unlike anything he has seen before.
The Detroit Lions Will Lean on Jahmyr Gibbs in 2026
GettyJahmyr Gibbs is expected to be a bell cow.
Gibbs is now entering his fourth year with the Lions. In his first year, he trailed David Montgomery in carries, 219-182. However, things began to flip for Gibbs in his second year. Gibbs led the way in 2024, with 250 carries to 185 from Montgomery.
In 2025, Gibbs saw a larger share of the workload, but Montgomery still logged 158 carries compared to Gibbs’ 243 carries.
However, Campbell noted that last year he started to see more of the bell cow split. He went from 57% of the team’s snaps as a rookie to 56% in year two all the way up to 67% of the snaps last year. He played over 70% of the snaps in five of his final eight games.
The biggest difference he saw over that stretch was in the passing game, where he went from averaging 3.6 catches for 25.2 yards in the first nine games of the season to 5.6 catches for 48.6 yards in the final stretch of the season. If he maintains his rushing value and adds that type of receiving work, he is going to be the top player in fantasy football.
Jahmyr Gibbs is a Buy in Fantasy Football
The added receiving is a massive upgrade for fantasy football, and Gibbs has already been an elite talent without that. In 2023, he finished 25th amongst FLEX players in fantasy points and 10th amongst running backs. In 2024, he jumped all the way to second behind Ja’Marr Chase in fantasy points and first amongst running backs.
Last year was considered a down year for the Lions offense, and he finished 4th amongst FLEX players and third of all running backs in points.
So, Gibbs was already going to enter the year as one of the five most coveted fantasy football assets in the NFL. Now, he is in a better offense with a new offensive coordinator. His offensive line should be much improved, and it is definitely more athletic. Lastly, he is expected to see an uptick in usage. It is going to be hard to slow down the hype around Gibbs this summer, and Campbell is not interested in calming things down.
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