Detroit Lions 2026 offensive stat projections: Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown and more
Detroit should get back to running the football more in 2026, but that doesn’t mean Jared Goff and his loaded group of pass catchers have to take a major step backward.
The Detroit Lions head into the 2026 NFL season with a loaded offense, and it’s time to put some numbers on paper. Every year before the season starts, I like to go through and project what the Lions’ offense will do statistically. I’ve nailed a couple of these in the past, so I feel pretty good about this.
Jared Goff’s passing numbers
| Stat | Projection |
|---|---|
| Completions | 403 |
| Attempts | 553 |
| Passing yards | 4,622 |
| Passing touchdowns | 32 |
| Interceptions | 10 |
| Completion percentage | 72.8% |
| Passer rating | 110.1 |
I’ve got Lions quarterback Jared Goff throwing 403 completions on 553 attempts for 4,622 passing yards, 32 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. That comes out to a 72.8% completion percentage and a 110.1 passer rating. That’s two more interceptions than he had last year and two fewer touchdowns. The yardage is right where you’d expect it to be.
The big thing here is that I expect Detroit to run the ball more than it did last season. At the end of 2025, the Lions had so many offensive line issues and injuries that it affected their ability to run the ball and avoid being one-dimensional. That’s really the big reason they missed the playoffs last year. The offense faltered down the stretch because everything fell apart due to injuries.
I expect running back Jahmyr Gibbs to get a lot of action. I expect running back Isiah Pacheco to get some as well. This should be a pretty good season for Goff, even if the numbers don’t end up as career highs.
Running back projections
| Player | Rushing yards | Rushing TDs |
|---|---|---|
| Jahmyr Gibbs | 1,402 | 17 |
| Isiah Pacheco | 535 | 5 |
| Jacob Saylors | 124 | 1 |
| Jameson Williams | 62 | 1 |
| Jared Goff | 41 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 2,164 | 25 |
I mentioned the Lions are probably going to run the ball a lot more, and that’s why I’ve got Gibbs rushing for 1,402 yards and 17 touchdowns. That’s a massive season. It would give Gibbs a pretty good chance of hitting the 2,000 total scrimmage yard mark, which would be nice.
I’ve got Pacheco putting up 535 yards and 5 touchdowns. I don’t see him as a 1-to-1 David Montgomery replacement. He’s going to be mostly short yardage, third-and-short, fourth-and-short, goal-line situations. Pacheco will get opportunities to make plays, but he’s not going to be out there on first down and second down during traditional running downs. He’ll probably come in for passing downs because he’s a much better pass protector than Gibbs, and he’s a much better pass protector than Montgomery was. You’ll see him a lot, but he’s not going to put up Montgomery-like stats. If you were hoping the Lions would have two running backs who each hit 1,000 yards, that’s not happening.
I’ve got Jacob Saylors at 124 yards and 1 touchdown. Nothing big. He’ll get in when opportunities arise, mostly in blowout situations on either end. Then I’ve got wide receiver Jameson Williams at 62 rushing yards and 1 touchdown on end-arounds and occasional handoffs. Goff gets 41 rushing yards and 1 touchdown. That 41 yards is not coming on one play. This is going to be spread across the entire season, and I think his longest run is 10 yards. That touchdown is a goal-line sneak.
Receiving projections
| Player | Receptions | Receiving yards | Receiving TDs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amon-Ra St. Brown | 105 | 1,250 | 9 |
| Jameson Williams | 76 | 1,125 | 8 |
| Sam LaPorta | 65 | 725 | 5 |
| Jahmyr Gibbs | 60 | 490 | 3 |
| Greg Dortch | 34 | 365 | 2 |
| Isaac TeSlaa | 24 | 400 | 2 |
| Tyler Conklin | 18 | 155 | 1 |
| Brock Wright | 8 | 52 | 1 |
| Isiah Pacheco | 10 | 40 | 1 |
| Tay Martin | 3 | 20 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 403 | 4,622 | 32 |
I’ve got Amon-Ra St. Brown having another killer season. Williams goes over 1,000 yards again. Tight end Sam LaPorta comes back with a nice 725-yard season and 5 touchdowns. Gibbs lands just short of the 500-yard receiving mark, which is still pretty good. He would need a little more if he really wants to hit that 2,000 scrimmage yard total, but with so many weapons, the Lions just don’t need to rely on Gibbs that much in the passing game anymore.
I’ve got both Dortch and TeSlaa adding to the mix. TeSlaa has a much better year than his rookie season, but training camp has shown us he might be more of a situational receiver than a guy you can put out there and trust in every scenario. Then I’ve got Tay Martin making the team with 3 catches for 20 yards.
Not a bad look for this Lions offense. We’ll come back at the end of the season and see what I got right and what I got wrong.
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