Isiah Pacheco's Injury Update: Jahmyr Gibbs Has a Shot of Surpassing LT's Historic Fantasy Football Season

Detroit Lions backup running back Isiah Pacheco is set to miss 12 weeks after recently having surgery. Pacheco is expected to be back in early December, but until then it is solely the Jahmyr Gibbs show in the Lions backfield.

With Pacheco out an extended amount of time, Gibbs has the opportunity and workload to challenge LaDainian Tomlison’s historic 2006 Fantasy season.

Jahmyr Gibbs’ Fantasy Outlook

Week 1 showcased what a Gibbs-only backfield could look like and it did not disappoint for Fantasy managers. Gibbs finished the Lions’ 31-30 overtime win with 29 rushes for 156 rushing yards, along with two rushing touchdowns. On top of the heavy run attempts, Gibbs added five receptions off of five targets for 30 receiving yards.

The 33.6 PPR performance from Gibbs makes any Fantasy manager salivate and think of what the season-long possibilities are for Gibbs, especially with Pacheco out until early December. Gibbs’ week 1 performance showed that the three-time Pro Bowler can shoulder a bellcow workload, while still maintaining his explosiveness. If Gibbs can continue this type of work over the season,
LT’s 20-year reign of top Fantasy season could be in jeopardy.

🎥 All 22 on Jahmyr Gibbs, Week 1.

29 carries for 156 yards and 2 scores, plus 5 catches on 5 targets. 82 of those yards came after contact, 7 missed tackles forced, a 54 yard breakaway and 34.6% of his total yardage on that one run.

7 10+ yards attempts yesterday pic.twitter.com/qNkouiYVAt
— Outside Zone (@OutsideZoneIO) September 15, 2026

Can Gibbs Overtake LT’s Top Spot?

Tomlison’s 2006 Fantasy season is a marvel to behold for Fantasy players. Tomlison finished the 16-game campaign with 1,815 rushing yards and 28 rushing touchdowns. LT was no slouch in the passing game either, adding over 500 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. Tomlison’s 2,300-plus scrimmage yards and 31 touchdowns led to a 30.1 FPPG season in PPR leagues, the best of all time.

These numbers are lofty for Gibbs to achieve, but the Lions running back now has the workload to threaten Tomlinson’s record. It’s only a one-week sample size that was aided by overtime, but Gibbs’ snap share and touches are hard to ignore when analyzing Gibbs’ chances to usurp Tomlinson. Gibbs was in for 57 of the Lions snaps, which was the most in a single game in his career, accounting for 74% of the snaps among Lions running backs. In those 57 snaps, Gibbs touched the ball 34 times, good for a nearly 60% chance Gibbs will touch the ball in some capacity when he is on the field.

There are a couple of road bumps Gibbs will have to get over in his quest for the best Fantasy season of all time. The first is being able to maintain this type of workload over a full season. The most touches Gibbs has tallied in a season is 320, which pales in comparison to Tomlison’s 404 touches in the 2026 season. Gibbs’ one-week sample size suggests a similar amount of touches to Tomlison’s 2006 season, but in an era where coaches emphasize keeping running backs fresh throughout the course of the season it may be tough to achieve.

Another hurdle for Gibbs is trying to match Tomlison’s 31 touchdowns. Gibbs is the clear red-zone running back for the Lions as the three-time Pro Bowler attempted eight rushes inside the 20 compared to Sione Vaki’s lone rush in week 1. Although Gibbs is the clear running-back option in the red zone, he has to compete against Lions pass catchers for touchdowns. Amon-Ra St. Brown finished with two receiving touchdowns in the red zone in week 1. Sam LaPorta and Jameson Williams are other threats to Gibbs’ touchdown opportunities. If Gibbs can finish a game with four or five touchdowns, he has a real threat of challenging LT’s 31 touchdowns and historic Fantasy season.

Jahmyr Gibbs in Week 1:

- 34 touches
- 186 scrimmage yards

8 of 14 Detroit Lions red zone touches (total, not just backfield) went to Gibbs. https://t.co/g9BsGM5ENV
— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) September 13, 2026

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