Fantasy Football Player Notes

Gibbs takes over the "D'Andre Swift role" in the offense. In this role, Swift ranked sixth in target share and 19th in route participation among running backs last season. This occurred while also mentioning that Swift bounced between the injury report and the Detroit dog house last season. Gibbs could surpass both numbers in his rookie season while also seeing some work on early downs. He's an explosive receiver, ranking in the top ten yards per route run and receiving grade in each of his final three collegiate seasons (minimum 20 targets). Kansas City was putrid against receiving backs last season, allowed the most receptions to the position, the fourth-most receiving yards, and the seventh-most receiving touchdowns (tied). Gibbs is a strong RB2 this week with RB1 upside (especially in PPR formats).

Montgomery takes over Detroit's early down hammer role this season for Jamaal Williams. Montgomery was an elite tackle-breaker last season, but sadly, it didn't do him much good. He was first in missed tackles forced per attempt but also finished with the lowest explosive run rate in the NFL (per Fantasy Points Data). Montgomery is a spinning top as he never goes down, but sadly, he never advances far upfield. Montgomery will have weeks where he finishes with RB1/2 stat lines, but this probably isn't one of them. It helps his cause that Chris Jones is likely out, and Carlos Dunlap is gone, though. Each player ranked inside the top 70 highest-graded run defenders in the NFL (among 264 qualifying players), with Jones finishing seventh and Dunlap coming in at 67th. Williams was utilized on gap runs with 57.3% of his carries last season. If Montgomery receives similar usage, he'll have uphill sledding. Last season, the Chiefs allowed the 12th-lowest yards after contact overall, the 12th-lowest success rate on gap runs, and the sixth-fewest rushing touchdowns. Montgomery is a volume-driven low-end RB2/high-end RB3.