Jahmyr Gibbs DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (leg) left Monday night's training camp practice early to be evaluated with a leg injury. Fantasy managers are going to have to check back for more word on the severity of Gibb's leg injury, but for now, consider him to be day-to-day. Expect the Lions to exercise plenty of caution with their lead back and former first-round pick in 2023. The 22-year-old finished as the RB10 in half-PPR scoring in his rookie season in 2023, finishing with 945 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on 182 carries while adding 52 receptions (71 targets) for 316 additional yards and a score. Despite once again being set to share Detroit's backfield touches with David Montgomery in 2024, Gibbs has midrange RB1 upside in PPR formats when healthy. Montgomery would have clear RB1 upside if Gibbs' injury is serious enough to keep him out into the regular season.

Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs has been working in wide receiver drills early in training camp. The young back was banged up due to a soft-tissue issue but that appears to be behind him. At the moment, Gibbs is taking part in receiving drills but is focusing on his route running. He has been learning alongside All=Pro teammate Amon-Ra St. Brown which is never a bad idea. The former 12th overall pick could end up being a dual-threat option heading into next season. Fellow back David Montgomery figures to handle a larger workload in the backfield, so more looks as a receiver is good news for the fantasy value of Gibbs.

It's clear that the Detroit Lions want second-year running back Jahmyr Gibbs to be more involved in their offense in 2024 after he rushed for almost 1,000 yards as a rookie and finished third in the league in yards per carry (5.2). Heading into his second year, the Lions are looking for more consistency out of Gibbs, mainly in pass protection, as he was graded 61st out of 63 qualified RBs in pass-blocking in 2023 by PFF. The Lions also want Gibbs to be more involved in the passing game, even though he was in the top 10 among RBs with 52 catches and 71 targets in 2023. His average depth of target, per PFF, was literally zero yards, so Detroit will be looking to use him more in the slot and deeper down the field in 2024. With David Montgomery still in town, Gibbs' ceiling will remain somewhat limited, but if he's more involved as a pass-catcher deeper down the field, he'll still have RB1 upside in PPR leagues.

Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes said this week on The Rich Eisen Show that second-year running back Jahmyr Gibbs could have an even bigger role in 2024. "I definitely would expect him to see more of a load, but David Montgomery will still be here too," Holmes said. "Dan and I love that 1-2 punch of him and David." The former first-round pick in 2023 was third among running backs with 5.2 yards per carry in his rookie campaign, so fantasy managers that were already fond of Gibbs' stock in a rising Lions offense will be pleased that he could be even more valuable as an RB1 in 2024. Not only should the 22-year-old former Alabama back see more carries, but he should also be more involved in the passing attack, where he can really excel with yards after the catch in open space. Only seven RBs saw more targets than Gibbs' 71 in 2023.

Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs rushed 12 times for 45 yards and a touchdown and caught three of his six targets for 11 yards in the NFC Championship Game loss to the San Francisco 49ers. It wasn't his best performance, and his tough day was capped off with a lost fumble on the second drive of the second half to give the 49ers the ball on the 24-yard line. Detroit went on to lose the game 34-31 after leading by 17 points at halftime. Although the turnover will be tough to get past, the 2023 first-round pick had a fantastic debut season with over 1,000 scrimmage yards and double-digit touchdowns. He should be one of the first running backs off the board in 2024 fantasy drafts.