Detroit LionsOur read
Written Sun 12:01 am Central, for week 6
Isiah Pacheco doesn't play this week on two counts: Detroit is off in week 6 of 2026, and he sits on injured reserve on Sunday's report. His next game is week 7 at home against the Packers. With zero games logged through week 5 and a fourth spot among Detroit backs behind Jahmyr Gibbs, our rest-of-season order puts him at RB69, 31.1 PPR points total. Find a fill-in for week 6, then decide whether the roster spot is worth the wait once he's back.
Written Oct 17, from his facts through last season
He has not played a down this season. Weeks 1 through 5 of 2026 all went by with Pacheco watching, and he landed on IR before week 3 with no return date in the news. His week 6 of 2026 bye is still ahead, so there is not even a week off to plan around. While he sits on that list, our board ranks him below every available running back, which means he is doing nothing for a roster that needs points now.
The role was never the draw anyway. DET lists him fourth at the position behind Jahmyr Gibbs, Sione Vaki and Jacob Saylors, and the offseason move from KC landed him in a backfield with the clearest pecking order in the league. Last season he ran a 51.5% snap share and a 6.4% target share, decent work for a committee piece, and it showed in the scoring: 6.7 points a game, with zero weeks above 15.
The deeper problem is availability. We expected 3 games from him before the season even began, injury risk counted, after he played 7 of 17 in 2024 and 13 of 17 in 2025. Our 66-point preseason number sits 20 points under the average for backs taken around his ADP of 160.7, and that gap is mostly the games we knew he would lose. There is a modest upside note here: backs in his spot gained 1.5 points a game on average the following season, so a healthy stretch in Detroit's offense could beat 6.7. But he has to get on the field first, and the wait runs at least another week. If your league gives you an IR slot to stash, keep him. If not, cut him loose for someone who can play.