Jul 29, 2026, 11:01 AM ET

The Detroit Lions have opened their 2026 training camp, but three-time Pro Bowl running back Jahmyr Gibbs is not taking part in practice, as reported by NFL Insider Adam Schefter. A similar situation is playing out in Atlanta with Falcons running back Bijan Robinson, and Schefter notes that the two had offseason conversations about potential long-term contracts. As first-round picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, both Gibbs and Robinson had their fifth-year options exercised this offseason, giving the Lions and Falcons team control through the 2027 season with the potential of using the franchise tag after that. Gibbs is RotoBaller's RB1 and the top overall player for the 2026 season, making any potential hold-in a situation capable of causing ripples throughout 2026 drafts.--Patrick McGrath
Source: Adam Schefter

Jul 25, 2026, 1:08 AM ET

Detroit Lions running back Sione Vaki is a "natural pass-catcher," and "the opportunity is there" for him to cut into presumed Lions RB2 Isiah Pacheco's touches, per Colton Pouncy of The Athletic. A fourth-round pick in 2024, Vaki has mostly played special teams through his first two professional seasons and has just seven career NFL carries. The Lions still have star running back Jahmyr Gibbs firmly atop their running back depth chart, but the team replaced veteran RB2 David Montgomery with Pacheco over the offseason. Pacheco has significantly more experience than Vaki, but he's averaged just 3.8 yards per carry on over 200 attempts since the start of the 2024 season. If Vaki can prove himself with a strong performance in training camp and the preseason, he could potentially threaten Pacheco's status as the Lions' clear backup running back. In deeper dynasty leagues, Vaki could be worth stashing just in case he emerges as the handcuff option in Detroit should Gibbs get injured.--Will Brady
Source: The Athletic - Colton Pouncy

Jul 20, 2026, 11:59 AM ET

Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs was one of the best players at his position in the NFL in 2025, recording 1,839 scrimmage yards and 18 touchdowns on 320 touches across 17 games. The 24-year-old averaged 5.0 yards per carry for the third consecutive season while also setting career-highs in targets (94), receptions (77), receiving yards (616), and receiving touchdowns (five). Entering 2026, Gibbs may play an even larger role in the Detroit offense after the team's offseason trade of veteran back David Montgomery to the Houston Texans. Gibbs is understandably valued extremely highly by current redraft ADP, typically being selected as either the first or second running back off the board. Gibbs' main competition, Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson, is also a fantastic player with monster upside. However, the offensive ecosystem around Gibbs in Detroit appears more stable than the ecosystem around Robinson in Atlanta, where there are major questions at the quarterback position. When splitting hairs between two elite options, that may be enough of a difference for fantasy managers to go with Gibbs over Robinson.--Will Brady
Source: RotoBaller

Jul 20, 2026, 10:26 AM ET

When Detroit Lions veterans gather for training camp on July 28, free agent acquisition Isiah Pacheco will have his first opportunity to prove that the Lions still possess the top running back tandem in the league. Expectations are through the roof for three-time Pro Bowler Jahmyr Gibbs following the offseason trade that sent David Montgomery to the Texans, but having already handled 337 opportunities in 2025, it's unrealistic to think he'll absorb the bulk of Montgomery's 182 vacated touches, and so in factors Pacheco. After racking up more than 2,100 yards and 14 touchdowns across his first two years with the Chiefs, Pacheco has dealt with injuries over the past two seasons that have seen his efficiency plummet and limited him to only 952 total yards. In Detroit, he won't be asked to carry the load, but the opportunities he does see could be of the high-value variety, with the Lions again projected to have one of the highest-scoring offenses in the league and Montgomery averaging 16 carries from within the five-yard line over his three seasons with the team. At RotoBaller's WR43, Pacheco holds enough standalone value to make him worthy of selection at the end of 2026 drafts, but his true value comes through the insurance he provides as a back capable of handling an every-down role in a worst-case injury scenario.--Patrick McGrath
Source: RotoBaller

Jun 28, 2026, 10:00 AM ET

In case the Detroit Lions' trading of David Montgomery to the Texans was not enough of a signal that fourth-year running back Jahmyr Gibbs was going to be the team's bell-cow back for the 2026 season, head coach Dan Campbell said the words clear as day in one of his first media sessions of organized team activities, telling reporters, "He's going to be our bell-cow now," and then later, "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." Running backs coach Tashard Choice, who has known Gibbs since he was a high school recruit, has since expressed belief that the 2023 first-round pick is in the best shape of his life, and having already finished as the RB4 and the RB2 in his past two seasons (while Montgomery was still averaging more than 200 touches of his own), expectations are through the roof for 2026. The Lions signed former Chief Isiah Pacheco to a one-year deal in free agency, but after averaging more than 1,000 yards from scrimmage over his first two years in the league, the 2022 seventh-round pick has struggled through injuries and has been held to only 952 yards and three touchdowns across the past two seasons. While he will undoubtedly play a role in keeping Gibbs fresh, all the rhetoric out of Detroit suggests that the backfield is ready to be fully handed over to one of the most explosive playmakers in the league. As such, Gibbs has earned the top overall spot in RotoBaller's 2026 single-quarterback fantasy rankings.--Patrick McGrath
Source: RotoBaller

Jun 27, 2026, 12:04 PM ET

The Detroit Lions have made it clear that running back Jahmyr Gibbs will be their bell-cow back in 2026, which means that newcomer Isiah Pacheco must prepare for a backup role in his new digs, according to Kory Woods of MLive Media Group. Pacheco, who won two Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs, signed a one-year deal with Detroit to replace David Montgomery, who was traded to the Houston Texans in early March. The 27-year-old former seventh-rounder in 2022 out of Rutgers started 31 of 34 games in the last three seasons in KC, but he's preparing for a much different role in Detroit. He's looking at a drastically reduced role in the Lions' backfield, especially after dealing with injuries in recent seasons. Pacheco missed nine games in 2024 with a broken right fibula and missed a month with an MCL sprain in 2024. In his first two years in the league, Pacheco averaged at least 4.6 yards per carry, but that number has dropped to 3.8 yards per attempt the last two years. Pacheco is committed to his new role behind Gibbs, but he has tumbled to No. 44 in RotoBaller's RB rankings for the 2026 campaign, making him more of a handcuff for Gibbs' managers.--Keith Hernandez
Source: MLive Media Group - Kory Woods

Jun 22, 2026, 12:20 PM ET

Detroit Lions running back Isiah Pacheco enters 2026 in a backup role behind star Lions back Jahmyr Gibbs. It's a new role for Pacheco, who spent most of his first four seasons in the NFL as the RB1 for the Kansas City Chiefs. However, Pacheco has struggled with both injuries and ineffectiveness over the past two seasons, missing 14 games and averaging just 3.8 yards per carry since the start of the 2024 campaign. In Detroit, Pacheco's touches will be limited as long as Gibbs remains healthy. Still, former Lions RB2 David Montgomery recorded 908 scrimmage yards and eight touchdowns across 17 games in 2025. If Pacheco can assume a similar role as the thunder to Gibbs' lightning, he could be a productive player for fantasy managers in 2026. Pacheco's handcuff appeal is obvious as well, as he profiles as the clear winner in the Detroit backfield if Gibbs suffers an injury. In redraft leagues, Pacheco could be a late-round sleeper to target in drafts.--Will Brady
Source: RotoBaller

Jun 4, 2026, 2:24 PM ET

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell said that the expectation is that running back Jahmyr Gibbs will be the team's "bellcow" in 2026, according to Nolan Bianchi of The Detroit News. "We're gonna hang our hat on him," Campbell said. It's not unexpected, especially after the team traded David Montgomery to the Houston Texans early in the offseason. The 24-year-old Gibbs, who was the 12th overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft out of the University of Alabama, has been one of the best all-around RBs since he set foot in the NFL, being named a Pro Bowler in each of his first three seasons. The Georgia native has a whopping 3,580 rushing yards and 39 rushing touchdowns, to go along with 181 catches (228 targets) for 1,449 receiving yards and 10 receiving TDs in 49 regular-season games for Detroit. Gibbs hasn't dipped under 5.0 yards per carry in any of his three seasons, and is an elite three-down fantasy RB. With even more usage coming in 2026, fantasy managers sitting in the No. 2 draft spot this year will be ecstatic if he doesn't come off the board at No. 1 overall.--Keith Hernandez
Source: The Detroit News - Nolan Bianchi

May 29, 2026, 11:29 AM ET

Detroit Lions running back Isiah Pacheco finds himself in a new place for the 2026 season, and it could be exactly what he needs to get back on track as a fantasy-relevant running back in dynasty leagues. Pacheco spent his first four seasons with the Chiefs, finishing higher than RB37 just once. He was the RB15 in 2023, but injuries cost him 14 games over the last two years, and he wasn't particularly effective when healthy, either. The Chiefs used him as more of a primary running back, getting him involved on rushing and passing downs, while the Lions may use him as more of a short-yardage option to move the chains or get into the end zone. That could mean fewer touches and yards per carry, but more touchdowns and more of a clear-cut role. The new landing spot could vault Pacheco back into the top 36 fantasy running backs, making him a low-end RB3/flex on a weekly basis. As it stands, he is the RB55 in RotoBaller's latest dynasty rankings.--Andersen Pickard
Source: RotoBaller

May 16, 2026, 9:24 AM ET

Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs has finished as the RB2 and RB4 over the past two seasons, all while running mate David Montgomery continued to average more than 200 opportunities per year. With Montgomery traded to the Texans this offseason and replaced in free agency by downtrending former Chief Isiah Pacheco, expectations are sky high for Gibbs heading into his fourth season. Only Gibbs, Bijan Robinson, and De'Von Achane have finished as top six fantasy running backs in each of the past two seasons, and with all three entering their age 24 seasons, team environment becomes one of the most weighted factors in determining the dynasty RB1. Both the Falcons and Dolphins are bringing in new coaching staffs for 2026, while the Lions approach year six under Dan Campbell, coming off four consecutive seasons with a top-five offensive finish. Gibbs should continue to see the most positive game scripts and scoring opportunities. In slotting him in at dynasty RB2, RotoBaller gives the slight edge to Robinson for his unique ability to gain hidden yardage in ways that few players in league history have been capable, but Gibbs is, and will continue to be, one of the most exciting young assets to build around, and is worthy of an early first-round selection, even in superflex startups.--Patrick McGrath
Source: RotoBaller