Jahmyr Gibbs on short list of running backs with the loftiest fantasy potential

A lack of early season usage last year had a segment of the fantasy football community up in arms, but managers who were patient regarding Jahmyr Gibbs were rewarded handsomely. Internally with the Detroit Lions, and surely outside the building, the expectations for Gibbs this year are for a bigger overall workload and some evolution as a pass catcher.

The path to Gibbs maximizing his fantasy ceiling this year will be paved with touch volume, and backfield mate David Montgomery is not exactly going away as a key piece of the Lions' offense (much to the chagrin of many of those who have drafted or will draft Gibbs).

The nature of the running back position has been clearly reflected in fantasy football. The last time someone repeated as the RB1 was Priest Holmes in 2002-2003. Christian McCaffrey was the RB1 last year, over 100 PPR points clear of the RB2 (Breece Hall), and he is among those who failed to repeat as the RB1 after doing so in 2019.

Jahmyr Gibbs makes list of candidates to unseat Christian McCaffrey as the RB1 in fantasy

We talked about Gibbs' possible path to finishing as the RB1 in fantasy this year a few months ago. On the premise of who are most likely to unseat McCaffrey this year, Jamey Eisenberg of CBS Sports put the Lions' second-year back on his list of six candidates, with mention of the Montgomery factor. But Eisenberg leaned into Gibbs' upside if Montgomery were to be out (as evidenced by a few games last year), his scoring prowess when his workload increased late last season and and overall favorable situation.

"It's a huge plus that he plays behind one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, and the Lions only have three outdoor games this season (Week 9 at Green Bay, Week 16 at Chicago and Week 17 at San Francisco). Gibbs should produce standout production with Montgomery as his running mate, but Gibbs would be elite if Montgomery missed any extended action this year."
-Jamey Eisenberg, CBS Sports

Gibbs's path to being the RB1 in fantasy this year is simple: More touch volume, maintaining last year's rushing efficiency to a large degree and taking a step in his evolution as a pass catcher. The odds he actually gets to that lofty spot is another conversation, but in this case it's good to be in the conversation.