Jahmyr Gibbs is making a pretty good case for himself as the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year. The Detroit Lions running back isn’t just putting up impressive numbers. He’s becoming the kind of player opposing defences have to account for on every snap. And that’s not an easy assignment.

Through seven games, Gibbs has piled up 1,058 all-purpose yards and 10 touchdowns. He’s rushed for 773 yards at five yards per carry and added another 285 yards as a receiver. Eight rushing touchdowns and two receiving scores tell part of the story. The more interesting part is how many different ways he can hurt a defence.

That’s what makes Gibbs so difficult to plan for. A defence can load up to stop the run, but Detroit can get him involved in the passing game. Give him a little room, and he has the speed to turn an ordinary play into something much bigger.

Gibbs Is Putting Up Award-Winning Numbers

The early production has put Gibbs at the top of the betting conversation for the 2026 Offensive Player of the Year award. Fox Sports listed him as the favourite heading into Week 8, with Seattle Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba among the players chasing him.

There is still a lot of football to play, of course. Awards aren’t handed out in October, and opposing coaches have plenty of time to adjust. But Gibbs has given voters a reason to pay attention.

Consider what his current pace would look like over a 17-game season. He would finish with approximately 2,570 all-purpose yards, including 1,877 rushing yards, and roughly 24 touchdowns. Those are projections, not promises. Still, they give you an idea of just how productive his opening stretch has been.

And Gibbs added another piece of Lions history on Sunday. In Detroit’s 19-15 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, he scored his 10th touchdown of the season. That made him only the second player in franchise history, alongside Barry Sanders, to record at least 10 touchdowns in four consecutive seasons. That’s pretty good company.

The Hard Part for Gibbs Is Still Ahead

Here’s the question for Detroit fans: Can Gibbs keep this up when defences make him their first priority? They know what he can do now. The challenge will be finding ways to keep him involved when opponents devote extra attention to stopping him. His receiving ability gives the Lions some flexibility, and that’s an important advantage.

Gibbs doesn’t have to break a big play every time he touches the ball. Sometimes his value is simply making a defence worry about what might happen next. The Lions have a special offensive weapon. If Gibbs keeps producing at anything close to this level, the award conversation will take care of itself. But the bigger prize is what his performance might mean for Detroit when the games get more important.

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