It seems that panic has begun to spread throughout the fantasy football community after a rather underwhelming debut from Jahmyr Gibbs against the Chiefs, drawing just 7 carries, 2 targets, and 19 total snaps (27% snap share) in Week 1 to David Montgomery's 21 carries, 74 yards, 1 TD, and 55 snaps (79% snap share).
There's more good than bad to take away from Gibbs' debut. Yes, he got massively out-touched and out-snapped by fellow RB David Montgomery, but Jahmyr Gibbs showed exactly why he was drafted 12th overall. With his mere 9 touches, he was hyper-efficient, tallying 60 yards (6.0 YPC), posting 8 points in PPR scoring, and was a self-inflicted stumble away from a walk-in touchdown that would've meant a completely different narrative for his debut.
We knew his workload would be limited to start the season with Head Coach Dan Campbell saying the team would be "smart" with Gibbs' usage in Week 1 to preserve the RB for the entire season. His usage will increase as the season progresses, likely transforming into the second half of a 1A-1B type split, similar to Tony Pollard's utilization in 2022 alongside Ezekiel Elliott. That will come naturally, especially as the Lions are forced to play in more 'friendly' game scripts to Gibbs, seeing as the Chiefs' offense posed little threat to the Lions' defense without Travis Kelce and contributed to Detroit trailing for just 14:44 of game time.
I've seen people throw out names like Alexander Mattison, Cam Akers, and Khalil Herbert as players considered trading Jahmyr Gibbs for (straight up)... Take a breath, take a step back.
We knew David Montgomery would be the 1A of the backfield and control the short-yardage/goal-line work (as Jamaal Williams did last year). We knew Jahmyr Gibbs would be gradually introduced into a full workload. You didn't draft Gibbs to be a top-end RB in the first few weeks. Wait until Week 4 or 5 before considering trading away Gibbs, unless you are getting a truly incredible offer for him (top 10 RB/WR) - he should still be a season-long top 15 RB.