Who Should I Start? Travis Etienne Jr. or Jahmyr Gibbs

Monday, March 23, 5:59 AM

For the first time in his NFL career, Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs looks to be entering the 2026 season in a true bellcow role. The Lions selected Gibbs with the 12th overall pick in the 2023 Draft, the same year they added veteran David Montgomery through free agency. For three seasons, Gibbs and Montgomery shared Detroit's backfield as the most productive running back tandem in the league. 2025 signalled the beginning of a shift, with Gibbs officially taking over the starter title and out-touching Montgomery by nearly a two-to-one margin, despite the latter playing 17 games for the first time in his career. With Montgomery now being shipped to Houston, Gibbs is presumably in line for the largest workload of his career, and he deserves thorough consideration as the RB1 in both redraft and dynasty leagues. Detroit added former Chief Isiah Pacheco in free agency to fill the vacated bruiser role, but injuries and inefficiency over the past two seasons have limited his role in a room with no true standouts, and he should not be viewed as a serious threat to keep Gibbs off the field.