LeSean McCoy: Lions Missed Super Bowl Not Using First-Round Pick More
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell took any guesswork out of the equation last week when he plainly stated Jahmyr Gibbs will be the team's bell-cow running back for the 2026 season.
After spending the first three years in a complementary role with veteran David Montgomery, Gibbs is ascending to top billing within the Lions' offense. Detroit traded Montgomery to the Houston Texans earlier this offseason, and though they brought in Isiah Pacheco it appears that it will be Gibbs' show in the backfield.
Gibbs has been one of the league's most electric running backs in his first thre seasons, amassing 3,580 rushing yards in that time including back-to-back seasons with over 1,000 yards. However, he has done so for the most part in a platoon role with Montgomery.
Now, he appears to be ascending out of that and into a primary role just as he's eligible for a contract extension.
On a recent episode of 'Speakeasy,' hosted by former NFL players LeSean McCoy and Emmanuel Acho, Gibbs' role for the Lions was discussed. McCoy, a former NFL running back himself who had a great career, believes the Lions may have done Gibbs and themselves a disservice by not featuring him sooner.
"He should have been the bell-cow. When I think of who's a more explosive player in the league, I can't think of anybody else but him, right?" McCoy said. "That's wide receivers and running backs. He should've been getting the ball. There's so many times where I watch games where he's not getting the ball, he's on the sideline. I love Montgomery because he's a hell of a running back, but they are different. The time you use a running back is when they're young."
In Gibbs' rookie season, the Lions reached the NFC Championship game before falling in heartbreaking fashion to the San Francisco 49ers. McCoy believes that a higher usage rate for Gibbs may have pushed them over the top.
"You're saving him for what? You're about to pay him all this money, get your use. He's that good, needs to touch the ball twenty-some times a game, that should be the minimum," McCoy explained. "But the truth is it's a little too late. I think with that type of offense, he should have been touching the ball because they might have been in the Super Bowl if he was."
Is Gibbs best in NFL?
Gibbs has been a force for the Lions and is widely regarded as one of the most electric players in the league.
Acho took the conversation to another level, predicting that Gibbs will be regarded as the best in the NFL by the time the season ended.
"I think whether accurate or inaccurate, the conversations at the end of the season will be Jahmyr Gibbs is the best running back in football," Acho said. "Not saying it's accurate, but he's good enough to be in that conversation. I think statistically speaking, he'll dominate. By the end of this year, everybody will say Jahmyr Gibbs is the best running back in football."
Acho added a bold prediction for Gibbs' 2026 campaign, putting high expectations on the fourth-year running back's performance for the upcoming year.
"I think Jahmyr Gibbs will have 2,400 all-purpose yards this year," Acho explained. "And I think he'll probably have 20-plus touchdowns this year, and I think he will be head and shoulders better than everybody not named Bijan Robinson from a statistical standpoint."
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/lions/onsi as LeSean McCoy: Lions Missed Super Bowl Not Using First-Round Pick More.
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This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 5:09 PM.