There's a chance that the Lions are just fine at running back this season. That Jahmyr Gibbs stays healthy as the team's bellcow and that Isiah Pacheco bounces back from his current knee injury and becomes the ideal No. 2 in a reinvigorated rushing attack.
There's also a chance, as things stand today, that the Lions find themselves needing help.
This is less about Gibbs, who's taken 300-plus touches each of the last two seasons without missing a game, than it is Pacheco, who suffered what Dan Campbell called a "little MCL strain or sprain" about 10 days into camp and hasn't practiced since.
Campbell said last week that the Lions "feel pretty good about him being ready to go when the season gets here" and downplayed any concerns, but this is a running back who also missed a month last season with a sprained MCL and who hasn't run with the same power since breaking his leg early in the 2024 season.
Pacheco in 33 games before the broken leg: 4.6 yards per carry, 13 rushing touchdowns, 19 broken tackles. In 18 games since: 3.8 yards per carry, 1 rushing touchdown, 2 broken tackles. Pacheco was running hard for the Lions in camp prior to the injury, but his health and production this year are no guarantees the way they were with Gibbs' former running mate David Montgomery.
Which brings us to Sione Vaki, the third-year running back who has seven career carries. Vaki, it should be said, is one of the best special teams players on the Lions, one of the very best in the NFL, in the opinion of Campbell. And that was certainly part of his appeal when the Lions traded up to draft him in the fourth round in 2024. They knew he was a project at running back after he'd spent most of his time at Utah as a safety.
And the Lions, at the time, could afford to wait, with Gibbs and Montgomery in place as the best rushing tandem in the NFL. But every project has a due date. This could be the year for Vaki and the Lions.
Sione Vaki — two weeks after breaking his nose — on Lions’ offense, how he's a different RB in year 3, and lowering his shoulder on his long run in tonight's scrimmage:
"Shoutout Avonte — couldn’t get me out of bounds. It’s good, though. We’ll watch the film." 😄😄 pic.twitter.com/t6v9VHs6Kq
— 97.1 The Ticket: (@971theticketxyt) August 18, 2026
Vaki, for one, has to stay healthy. Injuries have slowed his development in Detroit, including hamstring and groin issues last year that cost him six games. That's why it was so troubling when Vaki went down in the first padded practice of camp this summer with a broken nose and an eye injury on a freak play where the finger of a defender slipped through his facemask.
He would miss 12 days, one preseason game and more valuable reps in the backfield. Jacob Saylors impressed in Vaki's absence. A natural running back who's bounced around the NFL and was Detroit's top kick returner last season, Saylors shined in the preseason opener and is building a case to make the roster with special teams value of his own.
But Vaki is back. He returned to practice Sunday and popped a couple times in Monday night's scrimmage, with a left eye that looks like a zombie's. His first carry was snuffed out by Alim McNeill, who's been disruptive all camp. He was also met a couple other times at the line, with Tyleik Williams in the backfield on both plays. Williams has been noticeable next to McNeill.
But Vaki, serving as the No. 2 to Gibbs, had a hard run on a handoff inside the 10 that helped set up a touchdown and later delivered one of the best plays of the night, a long scamper around the right edge -- shoutout Blake Miller -- that ended with Vaki lowering his shoulder and plowing through Avonte Maddox into the end zone. Jameson Williams came running down the sideline to meet him, roaring and flexing his arms.
It was ruled upon replay that Vaki stepped out at the 6, but it didn't negate the ferocity of the run. Blocks from receiver Isaac TeSlaa and tight end Tyler Conklin helped spring him.
"My thing is, just don’t go out of bounds there and score the ball. Shoutout Avonte — couldn’t get me out of bounds, but it’s good, though," Vaki said with a smile. "We’ll watch the film."
Vaki arrived in Detroit with half a season and 42 carries of rushing experience under his belt. He's since added 15 carries in three preseason games -- for 81 yards and a 5.4 average, for whatever it's worth -- plus those seven in the regular season. He had one carry last year. That isn't ideal for a developmental piece.
It also doesn't consider all the reps he's taken over the last two years in practice, where Vaki has grown as a running back the most.
"Just being able to get my eyes right on protections and things like that, getting my steps right, my pads on running the ball, my vision. It's just a testament to the guys in front of me and everyone else in the running backs room. I just appreciate Scottie (Montgomery) and (Tashard Choice) getting me right while I’m in the room," Vaki said.
Vaki is a soft-spoken dude. His demeanor is to keep his head down and work. Asked about the next step in his career, he demurred and said he's trying to get better each day and "whatever happens, happens." This isn't laissez-faire. Vaki cares -- a lot. He lays his body on the line on special teams.
He just knows his place in the Lions' offense, which is loaded with stars.
"Man, sky's the limit. You guys know the people we got, the weapons we have, so whatever my piece is, I’m just trying to do my part," Vaki said.
He did it pretty well on Monday night, in support of Gibbs. His part could expand this season, unless everything goes exactly according to plan for Detroit's backfield. That feels unlikely. If the project indeed comes due, we'll see how Vaki, and the Lions, are graded.
