On the roster: Jahmyr Gibbs, Isiah Pacheco, Sione Vaki, Jacob Saylors, Jabari Small, Kye Robichaux

Key losses: David Montgomery

^ with another team

Best competition: No. 4 running back

The Lions kept four running backs on the initial 53-man roster coming out of training camp last year and could look to do the same again in 2026. If that turns out to be case, it should be a tight competition for the last spot on the roster behind Gibbs, Pacheco and Vaki.

The ability to play special teams will go a long way in determining who could win the role. Vaki and former Lion Craig Reynolds earned the No. 3 and No. 4 roster spots last year playing key roles on special teams. Vaki is one of Detroit's top players on teams.

Saylors played in 16 games for the Lions last season almost exclusively as a special teamer. He returned 33 kickoffs with a 27.2-yard average and recorded eight special teams tackles.

Small spent the last two seasons on the practice squads in Tennessee and Detroit after going undrafted in 2024. Robichaux was injured early in camp last season and spent the year on Detroit's Reserve/Injured list.

Twentyman's take: Gibbs is a three-time Pro Bowler and one of the top running backs in the NFL. With the Montgomery trade this offseason, the Lions plan to make Gibbs their bell-cow back with Pacheco and Vaki in reserve.

Pacheco was signed in free agency to take Montgomery's role. He was Kansas City's lead back in 2022 and 2023 when he averaged 4.9 and 4.6 yards per carry, helping Kansas City win back-to-back Super Bowls. He hasn't seen the same kind of production since suffering a fractured fibula in Week 2 of the 2024 season, but the Lions think he's a perfect fit in Detroit as a complement to Gibbs in both the run and pass games.

Gibbs took 67 percent of the offensive snaps last year after getting 57 percent as a rookie in 2023 and 56 percent in 2024. It wouldn't be surprising if that number is closer to 75 this season. He could be in the mix for Offensive Player of the Year - he's that dynamic.

By the numbers:

4-0: Detroit's record last season when recording a 100-yard rusher.

5.3: Gibbs' rushing average since the start of the 2023 season ranks second in the NFL.

14: Rushes of 20-plus yards for the Lions last year. Only Baltimore (25), Seattle (18), Buffalo (16), Miami (16) and New England (16) had more.

42: Negative rushes by Detroit running backs in 2025, which tied for 21st in the league.

49: Gibbs' 49 career touchdowns are the most a player has ever logged through their first three seasons in NFL history. He is the only player in franchise history to have multiple seasons with 17-or-more touchdowns.

75.8: Detroit's conversion percentage on 3rd & 1 and 4th & 1 opportunities last season, which was second highest in the league behind only the New York Giants (78.6).

168: Combined total scrimmage yards, including a touchdown, for Pacheco in back-to-back Super Bowl wins with the Chiefs in 2022 and 2023.

1,958: Total combined rushing yards by Lions running backs last season. Only Buffalo (2,096), Baltimore (2,053), Atlanta (2,052) and the Los Angeles Rams (2,044) had more. Detroit's 26 touchdowns from their running backs were the most in the NFL last season.

Quotable: "Our first conversation, I was screaming on the phone, 'Ahhh, let's (expletive) go. I'm ready to go. Put me in,'" Pacheco said of his first conversation with head coach Dan Campbell after signing in Detroit as a free agent. "He's like, 'Oh yeah, Pacheco, what number you going with, you going with 10?' I go, '(expletive) right. Let's go. I'm on my way. I'm coming home.'

"I had eight opportunities to go to different teams with Kansas City was one of them. Once they made that move I was looking forward to opening up the door to go somewhere else and (Detroit) was the first place I thought of."