With David Montgomery traded to Houston and Dan Campbell publicly naming Gibbs the "bell cow," you can expect a big jump. Here's the breakdown:
- Guided projection from the wiki: At full bell-cow volume, the Lions' plan points to roughly 300 carries + ~100 targets across 17 games — that's about 23-24 touches per game (from the Jahmyr Gibbs page).
- Real-world precedent: When Montgomery missed games in 2024-2025, Gibbs averaged 32.6 PPR points on massive usage. And in Weeks 11-18 of 2025 (when his role expanded late in the year), he was already at 20 touches and 114.9 yards per game.
- Snap share confirmation: Campbell expects Gibbs to operate in the 75-80% snap range, up from his previous high of 67%. Isiah Pacheco is just depth, not a Montgomery-style platoon partner.
So figure 20-24 touches per game is the realistic range, with a ceiling closer to 25 if Pacheco barely factors in. That kind of volume is why he's the consensus 1.01 debate with Bijan Robinson.
Ron Stewart on Underdog had Gibbs as his RB1 overall this season, saying "this is the day we've been waiting for since we drafted Gibbs" — and that's with the Montgomery-sized hole in the backfield finally cleared.