Jahmyr Gibbs Named Lions’ Bellcow Back, Now Betting Favorite for NFL Offensive Player of the Year

Dan Campbell just handed Jahmyr Gibbs the keys to the Detroit Lions offense, and the betting markets responded instantly. The Lions head coach declared Gibbs the team’s “bellcow” back for 2026, and sportsbooks now list the 24-year-old as the favorite to win NFL Offensive Player of the Year at +700, ahead of Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson at +850.

Gibbs enters his fourth NFL season coming off the best year of his career. The former Alabama and Georgia Tech standout, nicknamed “Sonic” for his explosiveness out of the backfield, rushed for 1,223 yards and 13 touchdowns on 243 carries in 2025 while adding 77 catches for 616 yards and five more scores through the air. The dual-threat production earned him his third straight Pro Bowl selection and cemented his status as one of the league’s most complete backs.

Campbell’s Comments Signal a Bigger Workload

Campbell didn’t mince words when describing Gibbs’ expanded role heading into the new season. “He’s going to be our bell cow now,” Campbell told reporters. “He really became more of that last year, but we’re going to hang our hat on him quite a bit. We’re going to do a lot of things we feel like he does well.” The comments confirm what many around the organization have suspected since Gibbs started all 17 games last season after a lighter workload in his first two years, when the Lions split carries more evenly between Gibbs and David Montgomery.

That trust is already showing up across the NFL betting odds board. According to DraftKings, Gibbs leads all players in both ticket count and handle for the 2026 OPOY market, a sign that bettors are buying into Detroit’s plan to feed him early and often. Beyond the overall award, Gibbs carries strong odds in several rushing-specific markets: he’s a +700 fourth favorite to lead the league in rushing yards, a +550 co-favorite with Baltimore’s Derrick Henry for most rushing touchdowns, and sits at +1600 to reach the rare 2,000-yard rushing plateau. Prop bettors are also watching his season-long milestone markets, including +700 odds to be the first player this season with a three-rushing-touchdown game and +750 to be the first to top 150 rushing yards in a game.

A Historic Start and a Contract in Motion

Gibbs’ rise isn’t happening in a vacuum. Over his first three NFL seasons, he racked up 49 total touchdowns, breaking Barry Sanders’ franchise record of 47 touchdowns through a player’s first three years in Detroit. His career line now stands at 3,580 rushing yards and 39 rushing touchdowns on 675 carries, plus 181 receptions for 1,449 yards and 10 receiving scores — video-game numbers for a player who only turned 24 in March.

The production has put the Lions in an interesting position financially. Detroit exercised Gibbs’ fifth-year option in April, locking him in through the 2027 season on his rookie deal, but general manager Brad Holmes has already signaled the team’s intent to go further and sign him to a long-term extension that would make him one of the highest-paid running backs in football. Talks reportedly began during the offseason, though no agreement has been finalized. With rushing and receiving prop lines already being built around him heading into the season, and sportsbooks pricing him as the game’s top offensive non-quarterback threat, Detroit’s incentive to get a deal done only grows stronger. Bettors tracking the futures market can find the latest lines through a DraftKings promo code as more props roll out closer to kickoff.

For now, all signs point to Gibbs anchoring an offense that has quietly become one of the league’s most efficient. If Campbell’s bellcow promise holds up through 16 or 17 games, the touchdown totals, rushing yardage, and receiving numbers could all climb well past his 2025 marks — and the betting markets are already betting on exactly that.