The Detroit Lions could complete their running back room and find a perfect replacement for David Montgomery if they trade for Carolina Panthers running back Chubba Hubbard, according to Jake Beckman of Fansided. Beckman argues that while the team signed Isiah Pacheco in free agency this offseason, that is not enough to replace the hole that Montgomery left, and the team should continue to look outside the roster.
“That’s not remotely close to a one-for-one replacement,” Beckman notes of Pacheco replacing Montgomery. “If they wanted to get greedy and make sure they really crushed everything, they could try to get Chuba Hubbard from Carolina.”
The Panthers are going to be getting Jonathan Brooks back from injury, and they drafted Trevor Etienne last season. They could spare Hubbard to a need more needy for the right price.
It is fair that Hubbard has a longer track and a stronger track record compared to Pacheco. Since entering the NFL in 2022, Pacheco has 576 attempts for 2,537 yards. He has 88 catches for 554 yards. Meanwhile, Hubbard has 717 carries for 3,074 yards, and he hauled in 126 passes for 798 yards. Pacheco is slightly more efficient, but not enough to overcome the fact that Hubbard is much more durable.
He has 141 more rushes and 38 more receptions. Hubbard has been much healthier over the past two seasons as well. He has 384 rushes for 1,706 yards, while Pacheco has 201 rushes for 772 yards. In the last two years, Hubbard has been much more efficient as well.
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The issue might be that the Lions are going to value the backup running back position less this year than they have in the past. They traded Montgomery because they wanted to put more work on the plate of Gibbs.
Montgomery has gone from 219 rushes to 185, down to 158 last year. He wanted a bigger workload. Meanwhile, Detroit wants to get Gibbs even more work, so 158 carries is likely too high for the new backup.
Hubbard only had 134 carries last year, but is on the trade bloc because he wants more. He has 238 and 250 carry seasons on his resume. While Pacheco has been banged up, he did have 118 carries last year. If they can get a healthier 118 carries this year, that is all that they are asking for. So, Pacheco might be the better fit.
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Hubbard would be a great addition, but might be too much overkill and too expensive an addition for what they need. If the Lions were going to trade for any position right now, it would be at safety.
Brian Branch is currently rehabbing a torn Patellar tendon. This was suffered so late in the year that his timetable to return this year is questionable. Meanwhile, Dan Campbell said he does not know when Kerby Joseph will return. So, the team could be down two starters at safety.
They brought in Christian Izien and Chuck Clark, but like Pacheco, those are names that could be upgraded over. It will be interesting to see what they believe their biggest hole is and if they do make any moves.
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