The Detroit Lions don’t have the same running back depth they’ve featured the past couple years. David Montgomery is now with the Houston Texans, and his replacement, Isiah Pacheco, has yet to make his 2026 NFL debut because of a back injury.
But the Lions might be in the process of developing additional depth while Pacheco remains sidelined.
Third-year running back Sione Vaki had the best offensive day of his NFL career Sunday versus the New York Jets. Vaki gave Jahmyr Gibbs a breather on more than a few occasions, rushing six times for 26 yards. Vaki also caught an 11-yard pass.
After the 31-24 victory over the Jets, Gibbs shared what Vaki means to the Lions.
“He comes to work every day, no matter what it is, that’s at running back, special teams,” Gibbs said. “He’s just everything for this team. So, I appreciate all the work he puts in.”
Lions’ Dan Campbell Also Addresses Vaki’s Breakout vs. Jets
It’s a bit of a stretch to call Week 3 a breakout performance for Vaki. But, he nearly matched his career total with 26 rushing yards versus the Jets.
Entering Week 3, Vaki had 32 rushing yards on 10 carries. He also had five catches for 61 yards in 29 NFL games.
After beating the Jets, Lions head coach Dan Campbell also expressed his appreciation for Vaki.
“I thought Vaki, man, really stepped up in there a couple times and did a heck of a job keeping the pocket clean,” Campbell said. “And then he had some real big runs for us. There’s nothing flashy about them, but the more we gain trust and he gains our trust, now we can really – that allows us to take a little something off of Gibbs here and keep him as fresh as he can be, but yet still use him for what we know he can be.”
Campbell addressing Vaki’s pass protection skills was the most noteworthy part of that answer. Gibbs is such a workhorse back that the Lions don’t need a ton of production from other running backs. But it would be extremely useful if the Lions could use a different running back in third down passing situations to give Gibbs a break.
Jahmyr Gibbs Continues His Elite Running Back Production
Gibbs continued his incredible start to the season versus the Jets. He rushed for 99 yards on 20 carries, averaging five yards per rush. Gibbs also scored two touchdowns.
But he also had 65 receiving yards, which put him just one yard shy of the team lead. Gibbs caught seven passes, one of which he also scored on.
In three games, Gibbs has 307 rushing yards, 156 receiving yards and six total touchdowns.
With that kind of production, the Lions clearly want Gibbs on the field as much as possible. This season, he’s playing almost 80% of the team’s offensive snaps. Last year, Gibbs played 67% of Detroit’s snaps on offense.
But finding Gibbs opportunities for rest will also be key going forward. The Lions can ill-afford to run their star running back into the ground. Vaki is the key to making sure that doesn’t happen this season.
Jahmyr Gibbs Speaks out on Lions Rising Versatile RB