Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs has already gotten off to a great start in 2026. With 353 ruhsing yards under his belt in addition to five touchdowns behind a whopping 80 carries thus far, he has certainly become the Lions' "bell cow" on their offense - as promised.
However, the increased role in Gibbs' hands hasn't led to a surge in the Lions' overall running game. In fact, they remain 20th in the league in rushing offense. That's only one spot ahead of their Week 5 opponent, the Arizona Cardinals, and quite the indictment on their inability to open running lanes for Gibbs.
The two teams are the inverse of one another defending the run, which could be a huge boost to Gibbs' stock ahead of Week 5 (and, a huge boost to Tyler Allgeier's and Bam Knight's stock, assuming rookie Jeremiyah Love doesn't suit up much in this game, if at all).
Lions must run the ball efficiently against Cardinals
Looking at run block and run stop win rates for these two teams, it feels like a stoppable force against a movable object. You have to have faith in the Lions' ability to piece things together faster than the Cardinals', though, with how well they've done with pass blocking this season. They just have a young line that entered this season with run blocking issues.
This is a really great "get right" opportunity for Detroit, and for Gibbs, as they look to stick to their game plan that involves utilizing Gibbs to the max. Against the Carolina Panthers, the Lions couldn't really stick to that plan with how well the Panthers were stuffing the run. Devin Lloyd was a menace throughout the game, and Detroit had no answer to him shooting the gap relentlessly.
Cade Mays' return should help improve Lions' run blocking
It's unclear whether Mays will be back in Week 5, but it does feel like Week 7 against the Green Bay Packers is a guaranteed debut date for the Lions' starting center. He's practicing this week, though, and that's a great sign for the Lions' run blocking moving forward.
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Mays was a top-graded run-blocking center in 2024, as noted by Pride of Detroit's Al Karsten back in March. To be honest, I haven't been able to stop thinking about these numbers from Mays as it relates to Gibbs and his success as a runner. You obviously wish there was a greater sample size from Mays in gap concepts, but you bank on his potential in those schemes with this line.
His work next to both Christian Mahogany and Tate Ratledge is going to be interesting, as both guards have been great to begin the year - Mahogany, especially, who has been a top guard in the NFL save for his one missing week in Week 2.
The Gibbs takeoff has yet to take place, but Mays' return should (eventually) kick start that.
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