The two-headed monster in the Lions' backfield is now a one-man show. Jahmyr Gibbs is the guy.
"He's going to be our bellcow now," Dan Campbell said Thursday as the Lions continue OTAs. "He really became more of that last year, but 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.
"Now, I've mentioned this before. He can run everything that we've got. He can run every scheme that anybody's ever run. He's not just an outside runner. He is not just a space runner. He can create his own space in the middle. And some of his biggest runs have been gap scheme right down the pipe where he's had patience and found it and guys blocked it up well."
#lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs on Detroit becoming home:
"It’s had a huge impact on me since I’ve been here. I love the people here, I love the sports teams here. It’s just been fun overall. I never thought I’d be here, in Detroit, growing up, but I really like it." pic.twitter.com/2rpWvOKRsl
— 97.1 The Ticket: (@971theticketxyt) June 4, 2026
For two years, the Lions had the best running back duo in the NFL in Gibbs in David Montgomery: Sonic and Knuckles. But Montgomery requested a trade this offseason after his role declined last years, so the Lions sent him to the Texans and replaced him with free agent Isiah Pacheco.
Pacheco had some good years with the Chiefs and helped them win two Super Bowls, but hasn't been the same since breaking his leg in the 2024 season. He could be a short-yardage, goal-line back in Detroit, but the Lions want Gibbs getting the vast majority of the touches in the backfield.
"We expect him to have a big year for us," said Campbell. "We're going to put a lot on his plate in the run and pass game.”
All good, says Gibbs. He has the ninth most carries (493) in the NFL over the last two seasons and hasn't shown any signs of slowing down.
"It’s nothing I’m not used to," Gibbs said Thursday. "Growing up I’ve always been the person that’s had the most carries and stuff like that, so I’m not looking at it any different than any other year."
Asked if he has to change his training regimen to prepare his body for an even heavier load this year, Gibbs said, "Nah, it’s the same stuff, just be consistent with whatever I do."
Gibbs saw significantly more work last season as a pass-catcher, finishing third in the NFL in targets (94), catches (77) and receiving yards (616) -- all career highs by a wide margin.
And "he's just getting started," Campbell said late in the year. "Everybody knows what he can do in the run game ... but the pass game stuff, he just continues to grow. The more we give him and the more we work with him in practice, we just continue to try to open his horizons and give him a little bit more. He gets better and better, then he gets in the game and the routes get crisper and crisper."
The Lions are leaning back into that. Interestingly, Gibbs said Thursday that he's running far more routes in practice at this time of the year than he ever has before. His involvement in the passing game feels even more intentional under new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing.
"I’d say in the past, they would say that but we wouldn’t get to it until later. Right now he implemented it day 1, so I have routes day 1, day 2 I have a bunch of different other routes," said Gibbs.
He said he doesn't remember exactly when the Lions started installing his routes in the offense last year, "but it wasn’t this soon. It wasn’t right when we got back (for spring practices). So I appreciate that."
Jared Goff said late last season that Gibbs was growing so much as a pass-catcher that while most of his routes used to come out of the backfield, "he's starting to become more of a, spread him out and he can run a litany of routes that's pretty special for a running back to be able to do."
"It's really cool that it seems like it's just scratching the surface for him as far as routes and receiving," said Goff. "It's exciting to think about where he could possibly go. It could be a place that the league's never seen before, where he can do certain things at receiver while also playing running back. He's a special, special player and we're lucky to have him."
Elsewhere on offense:
Jameson Williams said his primary focus this offseason has been "catching. That was my main thing, I wanted to get better at catching."
Drops were an issue for Williams early in his career, and plagued him at times again last season. Even as Williams finished ninth in the NFL with 1,117 receiving yards -- his second straight 1K season -- and third with 17.2 yards per catch, he led the NFL with 12 drops, some of them at really key moments.
Williams said he hasn't been doing any special drill-work to address the issue, but rather, "it's a mind thing, to me." Instead of drills, he said he's been taking mental reps, to hone his concentration.
Penei Sewell is early in his transition from right tackle to left tackle and is taking it one day at time. The biggest difference, he said, is "switching your whole stance," but Sewell has played of experience at left tackle in the past, including the first half of his rookie season.
"I feel like everybody in the world now has a good understanding of how the switch is. There’s other players in the league that have talked about it, so for me personally, right now it’s just cool, just taking it day by day and focus on that. Control what’s in front of me. I feel like if I look too far ahead, it could be frustrating. Just gotta keep coming into the building every day and finding something to get better."
Penei: "I know every year we talk about it’s a different year, but this one feels a lot different, just b/c all the guys I came in with aren’t here anymore. But the standard’s the same, and I’m the one that’s been here the longest in that room so it’s up to me to really hold it." pic.twitter.com/QZue47F0GK
— 97.1 The Ticket: (@971theticketxyt) June 4, 2026
Buccaneers All-Pro tackle Tristan Wirfs switched from the right to the left after his first three NFL seasons and didn't miss a beat. He remains one of the best in the business three years later. Joe Alt of the Chargers made the same switch last year after his rookie campaign and was thriving before a season-ending injury.
Sewell said he hasn't reached out to anyone who's made the switch for tips or advice. He knows full well that he can handle it on his own.
"At the end of the day just watch film," he said. "Right now it’s still kinda early, so just focusing on myself, but as the season goes on I’ll watch other players and see what they do and take notes."
And the new offensive coordinator isn't fretting it.
"He looks like, if not the best, one of the best tackles in football, left, right, middle, wherever you want to put him," Petzing said Thursday. "He is extremely impressive and I think he takes a lot of pride in that.
