David Montgomery Is Still Capping Jahmyr Gibbs’ Ceiling

What They're Saying

Campbell's full quote on his backfield: "Believe me, David Montgomery is not forgotten. We know exactly who he is, where he is, and what he’s capable of. And the 1-2 punch with he and Jahmyr Gibbs is special, and it’s rare in this league. There’s a place for David, he’s gonna help us, and we’re gonna use him — and we’ll use he and Gibbs together. We’ll do some of those things. We know he’s one of our best offensive players. That’s not changing right now."

2025 Fantasy Football Impact

This backfield was a true 50/50 split prior to Montgomery's Week 15 knee injury last year. Here were Montgomery and Gibbs' per-game averages through Week 14:

Montgomery ranked 18th among RBs in expected PPR points per game prior to that knee injury; 11th in actual points per game.

Gibbs was the much more efficient runner, beating Montgomery 5.6 to 4.2 in yards per carry. But Montgomery bested Gibbs in most key pass-catching metrics, including:

• Yards per target (9.0 to 8.2)
• Yards per route (2.24 to 1.67)
• Pro Football Focus receiving grade (91.0 to 74.4)

We could see the Lions shift a bit more work to Gibbs this season. But Montgomery is not going away as long as HC Dan Campbell is around. He's a fine pick at his RB22 ADP. That's somewhere near his healthy floor — and a Gibbs injury would turn Montgomery into a top-12 fantasy RB.

Gibbs, meanwhile, will likely need to pick up more volume and remain super efficient to pay off his lofty price tag.