The offseason trade of David Montgomery has put Jahmyr Gibbs into the Dan Campbell-professed "bell cow" role in the Detroit Lions' offense. Of course the contract Gibbs just got also assures he'll be used a lot, and he seems ready for a full-on workhorse role.
There are plenty of big predictions out there for Gibbs this season. More recent news will only further fuel that, as Campbell has said he's comfortable with Jacob Saylors as Gibbs' primary backup if Isiah Pacheco ends up missing Week 1 (or beyond?).
Being comfortable with Saylors as the No. 2 running back, if Pacheco isn't available, and giving him significant work are two different things. If anything, Gibbs would see a little more work in that scenario.
Could Jahmyr Gibbs break a long-running award streak?
The importance of the position has, rightfully by the way, has made NFL MVP the quintessential "quarterback award." The last non-quarterback to win league MVP was Adrian Peterson in 2012.
In a "Fact or Fiction" column with the 2026 season fast approaching, Gilberto Manzano of SI.com wondered if Gibbs could end the current streak of quarterbacks winning league MVP.
Manzano tabbed that idea as "fact", with a case for it to happen.
"It’s kinda funny how little coach Dan Campbell cares about the backup running back situation after spending the offseason raving about Gibbs."
"Campbell should be somewhat worried about Isiah Pacheco possibly not being available for the start of the season due to injury, but when you have a healthy Gibbs, there’s really no point in stressing about the position, even knowing that Jacob Saylors, who only has two career carries, is in line to be the backup running back for next week’s season opener against the Saints."
"With how much Campbell has hyped up Gibbs’s first season without splitting carries with David Montgomery, who’s now in Houston, there’s a real possibility Gibbs plays more than 80% of the offensive snaps this season. Last year, Gibbs saw a career-high 67% of the snaps and was on the field less than 60% of the time during his first two seasons. It’s wild how efficient he’s been in his career despite the limited work (at least 1,800 scrimmage yards in each of the past two seasons), and it makes you wonder whether he’s about to deliver a historic season."
"I’ll be bold here and say Gibbs ends the 13-year streak of a quarterback winning MVP and becomes the first running to claim the prestigious award since Adrian Peterson in 2012. But he’s going to have to produce a historic season because just rushing for 2,000 yards is no longer enough to win the award—just ask Saquon Barkley, who did it in 2024 and finished third for MVP."
"Perhaps Gibbs can flirt with the single-season yards from scrimmage record that currently belongs to Chris Johnson (2,509 yards in 2009)."
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According to FanDuel Sportsbook (odds subject to change), Gibbs has the 20th-best odds to win league MVP (+4500). Of course the first 19 are all quarterbacks, with Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson following Gibbs at +6000.
It will absolutely take a historic season for Gibbs to win league MVP this year. But if the efficiency he has had so far in his career pretty much holds up with a bigger workload, and of course he stays healthy, that kind of campaign is in play.
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