Jahmyr Gibbs vs De'Von Achane

“Without David Montgomery, Gibbs is set to smash. If you draft near the top of Round 1, perhaps this helps you decide between the two stud running backs.”

“It's been interesting to see the recent discourse about Jahmyr Gibbs as the RB1, though he's been my RB1 over Bijan Robinson for quite some time. However you feel about Gibbs vs. Robinson, one thing is for certain: the Lions have an insanely friendly schedule this year.”

“The star back for the Lions is one of the 2023 first-rounders on the books through 2027 thanks to his fifth-year option, with Detroit long expected to pursue an early extension. Gibbs is in line to handle an even larger workload than before without David Montgomery in the fold, and a recent projection from The Athletic's Austin Mock has Gibbs slotting in with a projected $19.9MM AAV and $46.7MM in guaranteed money, though Mock adds Gibbs is likely to land more than his projected figure.”

“Jahmyr Gibbs dramatically outperformed his expected rushing touchdown total last year, but that is just the norm for a player who has the explosive ability to score from anywhere. While nearly doubling expected rushing touchdown production would be a regression red flag for a lot of players, it is not for Gibbs because of his track record.”

“Detroit already paid Jack Campbell, who is now the NFL's second-highest-paid off-ball linebacker, and must decide on Jahmyr Gibbs' value and whether to let Sam LaPorta play out a contract year or reach an agreement now.”

“Gibbs has the clearest avenue he's ever had and is coming off a career-high 94 targets. With more touches, Gibbs could be one of the highest ceiling plays in fantasy football, and an auto-click if he makes it this far.”

“Another young running back who has seen things clear out behind him is Jahmyr Gibbs, with the departure of David Montgomery, and only Isiah Pacheco has been added to the running back room. Gibbs has had over 50 receptions in each of his three seasons in the NFL and averages 13 total touchdowns per season.”

“The idea behind "Stars & Scrubs" is to build your team primarily around a few star players. For example, you may be able to walk away with Ja'Marr Chase, Jahmyr Gibbs and someone like Christian McCaffrey, but this will leave you with a significantly lower budget for the remaining picks.”

“Gainwell ranked fourth among all backs in receptions in 2025, trailing only the dual-threat elites of Christian McCaffrey, Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs.”

“Jahmyr Gibbs had a rough end to the fantasy football season last year, costing managers who leaned on him all year championships. Gibbs should return to fantasy prominence with a wonderful start to the NFL season. The Lions start the season facing the Saints, Bills, Jets, Panthers, and Cardinals.”

“Pianowski looked thrilled to land Gibbs fourth overall. The argument centered around Detroit's favorable projected schedule and the belief that Gibbs can anchor multiple roster constructions, including hero-RB builds.”

“Gibbs was already one of fantasy football's most efficient weapons. Now there's a legitimate path toward elite volume to pair with that efficiency. That combination is how overall RB1 seasons happen.”

“De'Von Achane's recent Dolphins extension of four years and $64MM has Robinson and Gibbs potentially positioned to eclipse this deal on their second contracts and reset the market as a whole.”

“New general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan has publicly identified running back De'Von Achane as a core player he would like to retain, and he has since given lucrative extensions to Achane and center Aaron Brewer.”

“Malik Willis, however, could impact Achane's targets due to his propensity to break from the pocket. This tendency will rob Achane of the checkdown volume that he enjoyed with Tua Tagoviloa under center.”

“We would be kidding ourselves if we didn't consider Achane to be the centerpiece of the Dolphins' offense and our fantasy rosters. Stacking this receiving production on top of the leader of 40+ yard rushes since 2023 feels like cheating, but because of this, he will be the highest-scoring Dolphin for fantasy this year.”

“Achane is certainly talented enough to overcome these obstacles, but the concerns around him aren't factored into his early second-round average draft position (ADP). I'm not projecting him to fall into RB3 territory, but an RB2 finish is certainly plausible, which would be a major disappointment.”

“I was high on De'Von Achane last season, and I still expect him to get a ton of usage. Repeating his 2025 season, however, feels a bit lofty. The massive season came under Mike McDaniel's offense, which featured one of the league's most creative rushing attacks. McDaniel is now in Los Angeles as the Chargers' offensive coordinator.”

“This season, Malik Willis is slated to be under center for Miami. He's a dual-threat passer who will take away some of Achane's receiving opportunities when he decides to tuck it and run. If Achane gets roughly 75-80% of the targets he's been getting, he'll be a fine second-round selection. But if the receptions plummet, he'll be hard-pressed to pay off his fantasy football ADP.”

“De'Von Achane is currently going just outside of round one with an ADP of 15.5, but that has more to do with uncertainty around his offensive environment than his talent. Since 2024, Achane has amassed 145 receptions for 1,080 yards and 10 scores through the air. In 2025, 43.3% of Achane's fantasy points came via receiving. In 2024, it was an absurd 57.8%.”

“De'Von Achane has been terrific throughout his NFL career, but when Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill weren't on the field, Achane saw significant target share increases (14.8%, 18.4%, and 15.6% respectively). However, with the Dolphins having almost no receiving talent besides Achane and a new quarterback in Malik Willis who saw limited time as a starter, a top-five result might be a bit lofty despite his expected volume.”

“Miami RBs Jaylen Wright and Ollie Gordon II are competing for time as De'Von Achane's primary backup.”

“As for his first impression of HC Jeff Hafley, Achane said he's noticing the relationships he's building with their entire roster. "Great coach. This is my first time having a head coach that's a defensive guy, so I'm always telling him like, OK, get on the defensive side of the ball, but he's a great coach, man. You see now the relationships he's building, he's trying to get to know everybody."”

“Achane mentioned on a podcast that he doesn't have time to be on a rebuilding team. He explained he can't have the mindset that they are going to "lose every game." "As a football player that's a competitor, the rebuild phrase for me it's like, OK, they're basically saying we're going out here to lose every game."”