“He’s Gonna Be Our Bellcow”: Detroit Lions HC Dan Campbell Shows Praise for RB Jahmyr Gibbs as 2026 NFL Season Approaches

The Detroit Lions missed the playoffs with a 9-8 record last season. They had some ups and downs with the offense. One of the bright spots during the 2025 NFL season was running back Jahmyr Gibbs. He rushed for 1,223 yards on 243 carries and 13 touchdowns, along with averaging 5.0 yards per carry. Gibbs also caught 77 passes for 616 yards receiving and five touchdowns, along with averaging 8.0 yards per reception.

Gibbs will be entering his fourth NFL season. He is 24 years old. With David Montgomery no longer on the Lions, it will be interesting to see who the second running back behind Gibbs will be. For now, it could very well be Isiah Pacheco. Is there a chance that Gibbs could potentially have over 300 carries in the 2026 NFL season with not potentially having a reliable second option in the backfield for Detroit?

Detroit Lions HC Dan Campbell Shows Praise for RB Jahmyr Gibbs in Latest Press Conference

Lions head coach Dan Campbell spoke to the media on Thursday. He was asked about Gibbs’ workload for the upcoming 2026 NFL season. Campbell said,

“He’s gonna be our bellcow now. … We’re gonna hang our hat on him quite a bit.”

They did rely on him quite a bit last season. Gibbs did get 243 carries after all. There is a good chance that they could give him over 300 carries this season with the lack of having a second running back. At some point, Detroit will need to have a reliable second running back. Pacheco needs to be ready. If Detroit feels like they are running him into the ground too much, maybe they should make a trade for New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara?

It remains to be seen what will be done for the Lions. As for now in Detroit, Gibbs is going to be asked to do everything for this franchise in the backfield here.

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The post “He’s Gonna Be Our Bellcow”: Detroit Lions HC Dan Campbell Shows Praise for RB Jahmyr Gibbs as 2026 NFL Season Approaches appeared first on Gridiron Heroics.