Fantasy Upside
Jahmyr Gibbs more than paid off as a fantasy asset as a rookie on a per-game basis, particularly in the receiving game. His 69 targets were tied for seventh-highest with Austin Ekeler, while his 52 receptions tied for ninth-highest with Joe Mixon and Tyjae Spears. There's not much reason to think those numbers will fall off, as the Lions passed on the WR position in the NFL Draft while allowing Josh Reynolds to walk in free agency. His rushing totals could also go up after he only logged 40.6% of the team's attempts to David Montgomery's 53.2%. His RB11 finish in Year 1 may very well be his floor in this offense.
Fantasy Downside
David Montgomery is still in town, looks like he'll reprise the goal-line role (19 attempts from within the opponent's five-yard line), and is, well, good at football. In the three games Gibbs played without Montgomery, he averaged 19.7 half-PPR points, 18 rush attempts, and 100 yards on the ground. In the 12 other games, Gibbs averaged 10.7 attempts, 53.8 yards, and 13.1 PPG. Admittedly, those are still good numbers, but his lofty ceiling is going to remain somewhat capped as long as Montgomery is still performing at his high level of play.
2024 Bottom Line
The Lions have a very good problem with two high-level running backs on their team, but it is a little bit of a nuisance for fantasy. Even if Montgomery were out of the way, Gibbs isn't likely to receive 70%+ of his team's carries, but if it were a lesser teammate, it would certainly be far higher than last year's 40%. Regardless, Gibbs has a good enough floor to be considered an RB1 and will put up gaudy numbers if his teammate misses any time this season.
