For three seasons, Jahmyr Gibbs has had to share a backfield with David Montgomery. With the latter still wanting to be a feature back, the Detroit Lions shipped him off to Houston. Needing a replacement for the “Knuckles” role, they signed Isiah Pacheco. While Pacheco can play the Montgomery role, fantasy football managers should not expect him to be used the same way.
Should You Draft Isiah Pacheco in Fantasy Football?
Once upon a time, Pacheco looked like the Kansas City Chiefs RB1 of the future. He averaged 15.3 fantasy points per game in 2023. Then, to start the 2024 season, he looked well on his way to an RB1 finish…until he broke his fibula.
Advertisement
Now, as a former seventh-round pick, it’s impossible to know if Pacheco’s 2023 season was a fluke, the likes of which we’ve seen from Day 3/UDFA guys before, or if he’s actually talented. The underlying metrics were pretty good pre-injury. 72.4% opportunity share, showing he can handle heavy volume. A respectable 4.7 yards per touch. Pacheco wasn’t great at making defenders miss, but still managed 4.6 yards per carry. Then, the injury came.
After returning at clearly nowhere close to 100%, Pacheco’s efficiency cratered over the second half of the 2024 season. He lost out on opportunities to Kareem Hunt and, at times, barely touched the ball. The fantasy community didn’t completely dismiss this as nothing, but did largely give Pacheco an injury-related pass for the second half of 2024. Then, 2025 happened.
https://www.youtube.com/<a href="https://www.amazon.in/s?k=watch&tag=proffercoupon-21" rel="nofollow sponsored" class="amazon-affiliate-link" target="_blank">watch</a>?v=yuu6f0aZu20
Pacheco could not shake a 30 year old Hunt, losing out on high-leverage touches consistently. His 4.1 yards per touch ranked outside the top 50. Somehow, Pacheco’s evaded tackles per touch rate got even worse, bottoming out at 12.4%, 57th in the league. He was a zero in the passing game with just a 6.4% target share. At 6.7 PPG, Pacheco wasn’t even worth rostering in fantasy.
Advertisement
This year, Pacheco is another year removed from the injury. Could he regain some of his pre-injury form? Or was he never actually good to begin with? It’s something we can’t possibly know until we see him play.
It’s also possible that Pacheco looks better and is able to play more freely knowing he’s not competing for a starting job. In Kansas City, Pacheco certainly believed he should be the RB1. He has no delusions of that in Detroit, playing behind Jahmyr Gibbs. Still just 26 years old, the door is ajar for a Pacheco resurgence. What would that mean for fantasy? Let’s find out.
Pacheco’s Redraft Fantasy Football Value
This is the cheapest Pacheco has been in fantasy drafts since his rookie year. Going off the board as the RB49, not only is he not even a fantasy RB4, the gap between him and Gibbs is as large as any RB1 and his backup.
Advertisement
Head coach Dan Campbell already essentially made Gibbs the “bellcow” last season. Yet, he explicitly came out and said that now Gibbs will be the bellcow. That sends a clear message that the timeshare is over. That doesn’t mean Pacheco won’t play or have a role. Gone are the days where a team’s RB1 plays 85% of the snaps. But will Gibbs see an uptick from his 63.6% snap share of last year? Probably.
Fantasy managers should not draft Pacheco expecting a usable fantasy asset. He should be viewed as a pure handcuff. However, we can be highly confident in Pacheco’s handcuff status. The challenge with drafting handcuffs is always fantasy managers’ overconfidence in who the handcuff is and how much of the starter’s production he can replicate in the event he gets thrust into the starting role.
Try It Out: FREE Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator
If Gibbs were to miss time, we can be certain Pacheco would be the lead back. Obviously, he wouldn’t come close to doing what Gibbs does. But he would undoubtedly perform better than his current price tag.
Advertisement
What kind of value does a pure handcuff on one of the league’s best offenses look like? That depends on your league size and approach to drafting.
I have Pacheco at RB48, which is right around ADP. A couple spot difference that far down in the rankings is meaningless.
Whether to draft Pacheco will depend on your roster needs and how you’ve constructed the rest of your team. If you need a guy you can plug ‘n play each week to get a few points, Pacheco is probably not the best option. If you want a pure bench stash with meaningful upside in the event of an injury to the starter, Pacheco can provide that.
Pacheco’s Dynasty Fantasy Football Value
Pacheco’s dynasty value has undoubtedly cratered over the past two seasons. The general consensus now is that he is unlikely to ever be a starter again. While there is a chance he does enough with limited opportunities to prove he deserves a shot next season, the unfortunate reality is it’s very difficult for running backs to break the stigma of being a Day 3/UDFA guy.
Advertisement
Also Read: 2026 Controversial Fantasy Football Running Back Depth Charts: Who To Draft In these Confusing Rooms
It took guys like Austin Ekeler and Aaron Jones years to truly establish themselves as legit. At 26 years old in his fifth NFL season, it’s doubtful Pacheco ever does it. What this means is that Pacheco will always have job security concerns, even if he gets another shot at being a lead back in 2027.
We are lower on Pacheco in dynasty than in redraft with him down at RB54. At this point, there’s not much you can garner in a trade. Plus, he’s more of a piece that would be added to a deal as a throw-in than a core component. He is the rare player that you should utilize for whatever benefits you the most. If that means trading him away because it gets a deal done, go for it. If there’s no interest, you might as well hold and hope things break right for him in 2026.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
