NFL training camp is getting close in Detroit, and one of the biggest questions around the Lions is how their revamped running back group will hold up. David Montgomery is gone to the Houston Texans, but Jahmyr Gibbs is back, and Isiah Pacheco has arrived to give the Lions a different look in the backfield.
Even with that change, Detroit still lands at the top of the NFC North running back rankings. Gibbs is heading into the 2026 season after a huge third year, one that saw him rush for 1,223 yards and 13 touchdowns.
It marked his second straight season with more than 1,000 rushing yards for the Lions. Pacheco, meanwhile, comes over after four seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs.
In 13 games last season, he ran for 462 yards and a touchdown. How often Detroit leans on him with Gibbs as the lead back remains to be seen.
Chicago checks in next. Ben Johnson’s Bears are coming off what the source describes as a miracle 2025 season in his first year on the job, and they’ll try to defend the NFC North title with D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai carrying the load.
Swift delivered 1,087 rushing yards and nine touchdowns last season. Monangai, a seventh-round pick from Rutgers, turned heads by piling up 783 yards and five touchdowns.
Minnesota comes in at No. 3, with Aaron Jones Sr. and Jordan Mason expected to be central pieces as the Vikings try to push back into the playoffs after missing out last season. The team also has new quarterback Kyler Murray, along with an improved offense and a dominant defense, and it’s hoping to build on its strong finish to 2025. Jones Sr. and Mason combined for 1,306 rushing yards and eight touchdowns last season.
Green Bay rounds out the division. The Packers are expected to be without Josh Jacobs for at least part of the season while his legal case plays out.
Jacobs was productive last year, rushing for 929 yards and 13 touchdowns. If he misses time, the spotlight could shift to Chris Brooks, who ran for just 106 yards last season.
That would leave Jordan Love and the passing game carrying even more of the burden, especially after Green Bay was among the teams with the fewest pass attempts in the league last season.
In Other News...
These 5 Lions Carry Real Pressure Into 2026
The Lions have done what contenders are supposed to do this time of year: keep the core intact and push forward with a roster built to chase a Super Bowl in 2026. With much of the group still in place, the conversation around Detroit is less about overhaul than it is about whether the next wave of key contributors can take another step and match the standard the team has set for itself.
A closer look at that pressure points to a handful of players who now sit at the center of the discussion, including veterans on second contracts and younger pieces still working through their early years. The expectation is simple enough, even if the path is not: Detroit needs more from several important names if the roster is going to keep moving from good to truly dangerous, and the full breakdown of who is under the most scrutiny is where the real intrigue starts. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Campbell Must Sharpen One Key Area For Lions To Finish It
Dan Campbell heads into his sixth season in Detroit with the kind of rsum that buys patience and respect. He has helped turn the Lions into a team with multiple winning seasons and a regular presence in the NFC North race, and the next step is less about changing who he is than tightening the edges around it. For a coach whose energy and edge have become part of the franchise identity, the challenge now is making sure that same urgency does not keep showing up in the form of avoidable mistakes.
The Lions also have a new offensive voice to fold in, with Drew Petzing taking over as coordinator, and that transition will matter as Campbell tries to keep the operation clean and efficient. The bigger question is whether he can sharpen the decision-making that has sometimes pushed Detroit into unnecessary risk, from discipline issues to the kind of aggressive fourth-down choices that can swing field position the wrong way. If the Lions are going to finish the job in 2026, Campbell's margin for error may be smaller than ever. [Read more 🡒]
Lions May Have A Training Camp Answer Fans Didn't See Coming
Avonte Maddox already proved useful for Detroit last season, when injuries in the secondary pushed him into a key defensive role after the Lions brought him back in free agency. His value has always been tied to versatility, and that matters again now as the Lions head into training camp with a secondary that still has some sorting out to do. Maddox can help in run support and in coverage, which is exactly the kind of flexibility this defense has leaned on before.
What makes his situation worth watching is how many moving parts are still in front of him. Kerby Joseph, Chuck Clark and Christian Izien all factor into the safety picture, and Maddox could see his role grow if the camp and preseason pecking order does not settle the way the Lions expect. Even if he is not penciled in as a headline name, he looks like the kind of defender who can end up playing more than a lot of people first assumed. [Read more 🡒]