Why Dan Campbell’s plan for Jahmyr Gibbs should worry Detroit Lions fans
Jahmyr Gibbs carried the ball 243 times last season, which ranked 11th among NFL running backs and left him 80 carries behind Jonathan Taylor. He still finished with 1,223 rushing yards, 616 receiving yards, and 18 total touchdowns. Of course, Dan Campbell says the Lions have barely begun to use him.
Detroit traded David Montgomery to Houston this offseason and signed Isiah Pacheco to a one-year deal worth $1.81 million, then made Gibbs the highest-paid running back in the league on a three-year, $67.5 million extension that includes $51.5 million guaranteed. The deal came two days after Bijan Robinson reset the position at three years and $66.75 million, and it ended a holdout that had kept Gibbs off the practice field.
“I think that’ll always be there, but I mean, we’re going to push him. We’re going to push him because we think this kid can be one of the best, if not the best. So we’re going to push him to get there. We’re going to see what he’s got,” Campbell said on NFL Network’s Inside Training Camp Live. “Now, I’m glad we got Pacheco, and he’s going to very much be a part of what we have. But we need to see where we can take Gibbs now. We’ve only scratched the surface of him.”
Montgomery left behind 158 carries and 182 total touches, and eight of Detroit’s rushing touchdowns came off his workload rather than Gibbs’. Pacheco took 118 carries in Kansas City last season, so if he holds a similar role, the backfield’s 401 attempts split closer to 283 for Gibbs, which would still be a career high and a jump from 11th to around sixth in the league. The volume is less concerning to me than where it comes from, because Montgomery was the one absorbing short-yardage and goal-line contact while Gibbs worked in space.
#Lions HC Dan Campbell says RB Jahmyr Gibbs has “only scratched the surface” and they’re prepared to “push him” this season.
Campbell believes Gibbs can be one of the best, if not the best, and they want to see how far they can take him. 🚀 https://t.co/C7s0echYKq pic.twitter.com/xdkh2Dsl7U
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 9, 2026
How many touches can Jahmyr Gibbs actually handle?
That is the part of this that I am not fully settled on. Gibbs missed two games with a hamstring injury as a rookie and had another hamstring issue in his second training camp, and his production has always come in bursts rather than volume. The Lions are betting that the body holds up once the workload changes shape, and there is no way to test that bet except by running it.
Gibbs also sat out the first six practices of camp while the deal was being negotiated, and he returned in a limited capacity the day it was agreed. That leaves the back Detroit wants to lean on hardest with the least exposure to Drew Petzing’s new offense of anyone in the skill group.
Pacheco’s contract is the tell, because a team planning a genuine committee does not build one on a $1.81 million backup. He rushed for 2,537 yards and 14 touchdowns across four seasons in Kansas City, and injuries cost him 17 games over the past three of them. Campbell’s line about Pacheco being very much a part of it sits next to a contract and an availability record that both of course say otherwise.
Gibbs is signed through 2030 at $22.5 million a year and sits as the betting favorite for Offensive Player of the Year, which is a market pricing in the same season Campbell described. The Lions open with a new coordinator calling plays and no fallback they seem willing to use.
The number they gave Gibbs assumes a version of him nobody has seen yet, and the only way to find out is to hand him the ball until something gives.
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