Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings: Is Jahmyr Gibbs the RB1 with Isiah Pacheco?
The Detroit Lions added Isiah Pacheco to their running back room ahead of the 2026 season. The signing fills the gap left by David Montgomery as he heads to the Houston Texans. This now remodels the offensive scheme, but perhaps not in the way that many NFL fans expect. Gibbs is arguably the RB1 in fantasy football. Is he still that good with Pacheco? Let us determine what to expect.
Fantasy Football Expectations
Pacheco signed with the Lions on a light two-year deal. The Lions needed to add another running back to Gibbs. Although Gibbs is great, he is not a 25+ rush bellcow running back. Pacheco is a ruthless, yet small north-to-south runner, while Gibbs is more east-to-west.
The addition of Pacheco will be great, but he is not splitting carries like Montgomery had. In 2025, Gibbs out-rushed Montgomery 61-39%. With Pacheco, fans can expect Gibbs to rise even further with his share. The team is less familiar with and proud of Pacheco than they were with Montgomery, an RB1-caliber player.
It is very speculative, but with Gibbs being a premier player in the NFL, we can expect the rough expectations as listed below. Gibbs averaged 5.0 yards per attempt, and that means a lot.
- 65-80%: Jahmyr Gibbs
- 15-30%: Isiah Pacheco
Gibbs will surely remain the borderline RB1. His load shall only move up further with Pacheco, rather than with Montgomery backing him up. On the Chiefs, Pacheco struggled to just 3.9 yards per attempt. Expect the worst back in Pacheco to be a 3rd-down, load-management asset, and little else. Gibbs is THE guy.
2026 Fantasy Football Rankings
Jahmyr Gibbs
The consensus early rankings find Gibbs the "likely" RB1 in 2026 fantasy football. Gibbs will contest with Bijan Robinson for the designation, as Christian McCaffrey and Jonathan Taylor will linger in the shadows. The Lions project to be among the best NFL offenses again. Gibbs shall have his touch projection, as listed above, plus another 3-6 targets per game in the receiving game. That goes a long way for a player of great explosion.
Isiah Pacheco
Many platforms find Pacheco place outside the top 40 in running back rankings. That ranking shall be quite accurate. The ceiling of Pacheco is quite low, as Gibbs will demand most of this offense with zero debate. In touches, Pacheco may have 5-8 total touches per game, of course, with volatility in that protection.
The value to be had with Pacheco is that of handcuff value. The Lions are an elite NFL offense with an elite offensive line. If Pacheco elevated due to an unfortunate Gibbs injury, he would rise very highly. That is something that we cannot bank on, obviously.
Fantasy Sports On SI News:
Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.