Jahmyr Gibbs VS Bijan Robinson: Which Running Back Should Go First Overall in Fantasy Football?

Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson are Fantasy Football producers, who any Fantasy manager would love to have on their team, but who makes the better case to be selected first?

Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (0) runs with the ball for a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the New York Giants at Ford Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Battle for first-overall pick is narrowing down to two running backs, Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson.

Both Gibbs and Robinson are set up for monster Fantasy seasons, but who deserves to go first-overall?

Jahmyr Gibbs

Gibbs (RB 1, 1.55 ADP) continues to improve his Fantasy output season after season and the 2026 season may be his best yet. 

The Sonic-Knuckles duo of Gibbs and David Montgomery came to an end this offseason as Montgomery was shipped off to the Houston Texans. The splitting up of the Gibbs-Montgomery duo may break Lions fans’ hearts, but presents a Fantasy outlook for Gibbs Fantasy managers have never seen before.

Gibbs has been the top back out of the duo, but Montgomery would take some valuable snaps from Gibbs. Montgomery would often sub in for Gibbs near the goal line, taking away touchdown opportunities from the three-time Pro Bowler.

Gibbs would still churn out a boatload of touchdowns, tallying 49 total touchdowns over his first three seasons, but the number would be higher without Montgomery in the backfield.

Montgomery scored 33 rushing touchdowns in his three years in Detroit, limiting Gibbs true Fantasy potential.

Fantasy managers have seen Gibbs churn out a multitude of scrimmage yards throughout his first three seasons and it could improve in Gibbs’ first season without Montgomery.

Gibbs will see more rushing attempts and most importantly more goal-line touches without Montgomery in the backfield, which could lead to Gibbs’ best Fantasy season. 

Every Career Jahmyr Gibbs 10+ Yard Touchdown. pic.twitter.com/9fjjXktIVJ

— Football Performances (@NFLPerformances) July 7, 2026

Bijan Robinson

Robinson (RB 2, 1.67 ADP) continues to be a touch machine and it looks to be no different in the 2026 season. 

The 2025 All-Pro finished with a career-high 366 touches, en route to a RB 2 finish in PPR leagues. 

An area Robinson really improved upon last season was his pass ability out of the backfield. Robinson finished with 820 receiving yards last season, way more than the 487 and 431 receiving yards in his first two seasons. Robinson’s 820 receiving yards was second among all running backs, just behind Christian McCaffrey. 

Robinson should continue his high usage as head coach Kevin Stefanski has emphasized running backs in his offense during his time in Cleveland, as seen with Nick Chubb and Quinshon Judkins.

Akin to Gibbs, Robinson should see more goal-line work as Tyler Allgeier left to the Arizona Cardinals this offseason.

It was common to see Robinson march the Falcons down the field to then see Allgeier power into the endzone, much to the dismay of Robinson’s Fantasy owner. Allgeier actually finished with one more rushing touchdown than Robinson last season, despite having less than half the carries.

When comparing Gibbs’ and Robinson’s performances last season, the former Texas Longhorn has the edge in nearly all statistics.

Robinson produced more touches, along with more rushing yards and receiving yards, while lacking in touchdowns compared to Gibbs.

BIJAN ROBINSON 93 YARDS!

LARvsATL on ESPN/ABC
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/OTqGarUX9F

— NFL (@NFL) December 30, 2025

The Verdict

Both these running backs are worthy of going first overall, but the prospect of Gibbs finally having no competition taking away carries and most importantly, goal-line touches is too hard to pass up.

Robinson will continue his high usage and see a spike in rushing touchdowns with Allgeier no longer around.

It all comes down to personal preference and neither running back is the “wrong” pick, but the outlook for Gibbs to feast this Fantasy season is too hard to ignore.