Grading Detroit Lions Signing of RB Isiah Pacheco

In the week leading up to free agency, the Detroit Lions added additional needs for their board. The team released linemen Graham Glasgow and Taylor Decker, along with trading away running back David Montgomery.

Within the first 26 hours of free agency, the Lions and Brad Holmes have answered questions for two of those holes. Cade Mays is the next center for Detroit, and Jahmyr Gibbs now has a new backfield mate with Isiah Pacheco.

Terms have yet to be announced for the Pacheco deal, but he provides value and some snaps off for Gibbs, who has broken out into one of the top running backs in the NFL.

What impact will Pacheco have?

Pacheco is known for his running style, with the analyst’s remarks that he runs as if he is “angry at the ground,” among other quotes. Pacheco came into the NFL as a seventh-round draft pick out of Rutgers and exploded onto the stage for an 830-yard, five touchdown season.

He followed that up with 935 yards in 2023, along with increasing his touchdowns to seven as a sophomore. That was aided by nearly 250 receiving yards and another pair of touchdowns. It appeared that Pacheco was the next breakout back in the league.

Since that season, however, Pacheco has struggled with injuries and a failure to meet the lofty goals that his first two seasons provided. He has regressed to under four yards per carry in each of the last two seasons, with 772 yards rushing and only two touchdowns between the 20 games he played in 2024 and 2025.

In 2025, for comparison, David Montgomery received 158 carries, which was 40 more than what Pacheco got last season. While Pacheco might not receive the same workload that Montgomery got, there should be more opportunity for the two-time Super Bowl Champion to carry the ball, if he can stay healthy.

This is where the concern lies. Pacheco fractured his fibula in week two of 2024, then had last season set back by a knee injury. The hope is that with him now being a backup, it can keep him healthy. However, as stated above, the Lions utilized Montgomery over 160 times last season, which was a workload Pacheco could not sustain while healthy for the last two years.

With the Kansas City Chiefs signing Kenneth Walker III, it was clear that Pacheco would be looking to leave the team for new pastures, and he landed in Detroit.

Pacheco will be paired up with offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, who oversaw a resurgent season for James Conner in 2023 and 2024, with Conner going over 1,000 yards in each campaign.

Detroit immediately benefits from having another violent runner in the backfield, as the role of a power back with some shiftiness was Montgomery’s role during the last two seasons as Gibbs surged into arguably the top back in the NFL.

The pairing of Gibbs and Pacheco under Petzing is a highly intriguing duo, but the concern remains on keeping Pacheco healthy. That said, if Pacheco can stay healthy and find his form from the first two seasons, Detroit went from one deadly backfield duo to another.

Without the terms of the contract, it is a bit harder to grade the signing, but there is a lot of room for optimism with only a little pause for concern.

What impact will Pacheco have?

Grade: B