Detroit Lions don't need a RB after free agency, but here are 3 fits we like projected to go on Day 3
Allen Park — When considering how an NFL team will approach the upcoming draft, you have to look beyond the immediate roster needs. Each selection should be viewed as a four-year investment. Therefore, we must weigh the bigger picture with each possible choice.
Heading into the 2026 NFL draft, we’re going to take a position-by-position look at Detroit’s roster, focusing on areas where the team might add talent in the event. We start the series looking at running back.
Current roster: Jahmyr Gibbs, Isiah Pacheco, Sione Vaki, Jacob Saylors, Jabari Small, Kye Robichaux
Short-term need: 3/10
Long-term need: 8/10
Analysis: Fielding one of the most productive backfield tandems in NFL history the past three years, the Lions were compelled to turn over a new leaf this offseason. After moving Gibbs into the starting lineup last season, David Montgomery’s usage sharply declined. The setup was no longer tenable for the player or worthy of the team’s financial commitment to the veteran. After weighing the options, the Lions traded Montgomery to the Houston Texans in exchange for a pair of draft picks and offensive lineman Juice Scruggs.
Needing a new complement for Gibbs, Detroit didn’t wait for the draft, using free agency to land Pacheco, the 27-year-old wrecking ball who started 42 games in Kansas City across the past four seasons. Highly productive to start his career, averaging 4.7 yards per carry his first two seasons, Pacheco’s performance has suffered the past two years, in part due to a fractured fibula he suffered in the second week of the 2024 season.
If Pacheco can rebound two years removed from the injury, he checks a lot of the boxes, with a violent running style, enough speed to get the edge, an ability to produce in the passing game and above-average protection skills.
Rounding out the depth chart are Vaki and Saylors. Vaki, a top special teams performer, is coming off a season where he battled hamstring and groin strains, keeping him from carving out an offensive role. Meanwhile, Saylors, a UFL standout who joined the roster during training camp, found a path to contribute via special teams, including serving as one of Detroit's primary kickoff returners. He averaged a respectable 27.2 yards on 33 returns in the role.
In terms of contractual statuses, the Lions hold a fifth-year option for 2027 on Gibbs’ rookie deal, but the sides are expected to work toward a long-term extension this offseason. Vaki, a fourth-round pick in 2024, is also under contract through 2027, while Pacheco and Saylors are on one-year deals. For what it’s worth, Pacheco’s modest $1.81 million contract is fully guaranteed.
Regarding Detroit’s potential investment in the draft, the team would seem unlikely to use an early pick to bolster its backfield, given how much trouble they had getting Montgomery on the field last season. That takes them out of play for the top options, including Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love, who is the top-graded prospect in the draft, regardless of position, for some analysts.
The Lions are also unlikely to be in the mix for Love’s college teammate, Jadarian Price, or Arkansas’ Mike Washington, who dominated pre-draft athletic testing with a 4.33-second 40-yard dash and elite explosion and agility results at 223 pounds.
If their draft board aligns, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Lions use a Day 3 selection on a back, particularly if they feel they can secure a long-term partner to complement Gibbs.