After the injury to Isiah Pacheco and the strong preseason of Jacob Saylors, it was looking like Saylors had a chance to lock down the backup running back job for the foreseeable future.
However, head coach Dan Campbell threw some water on that fire by making it clear that he saw the team going with a committee approach behind Jahmyr Gibbs. Campbell expressed optimism toward third-year runner Sione Vaki also being in the mix.
“To me, it’s by committee too,” said Campbell. “I see Vaki getting some reps too, now. I don’t see like Saylors is running back two. Saylors brings special teams value and there are things that he’s been able to do.”
Saylors had 31 rushes for 187 yards in the preseason, which increased the hype on his potential. However, Vaki did not play in the preseason due to a broken nose. Campbell does not think the injury will hold him back from getting work in Week 1.
“We’ve seen more of him than Vaki in preseason games, but Vaki’s banked some pretty good reps in practice,” admitted Campbell. “We know Vaki’s a very valuable special teams player, but we feel like Vaki’s ready to take some of this on, too. As a runner and a pass protector, and a receiver. We feel good with either one of those guys in there when Jah needs a breather.”
Until Pacheco is back, it does not sound like there will be a defined backup to Jahmyr Gibbs.
Detroit Lions Plan For Two-Man Attack at Backup Running Back
Saylors was with the Lions last year, and he even got a few carries on the active roster. However, he has mostly been a journeyman since being a UDFA in 2023. Detroit signed him from the UFL in 2025.
While they like what they have in him, Campbell admitted a lot of it comes down to special teams. Even though he had a great preseason, they are not quite ready to hand him more work.
However, Vaki has a lot to prove as well. He was a safety in college, and despite being active for 27 games over the last two seasons, he has had seven rushing attempts.
Campbell likes his pass protection ability, which will eat into Saylor’s workload.
Lions Will Lean Into Jahmyr Gibbs
The reality is that Jahmyr Gibbs is the big winner in all of this. Campbell has made it clear that the team plans to feed him much more than the year prior. He called Gibbs their bell cow.
“He’s going to be our bell cow now,” Campbell said. “We’re going to hang our hat on him quite a bit. We’re going to do a lot of things we feel like he does well. I’ve mentioned this before; he can run everything that we’ve got. He can run every scheme that anybody’s ever run.”
That was when Pacheco was in the mix. Now, the backups are two running backs with a combined nine rushing attempts in the NFL. There should be a heavy dose of Gibbs this year.
Dan Campbell Makes Lions Backup RB Plans Clear