The Kansas City Chiefs‘ offense didn’t live up to the hype last season for a multitude of reasons. A lack of punch at running back was one of them, and that can be tied directly to the year Isiah Pacheco had.
Now on the other side of his worst campaign to date, Pacheco is looking to bounce back for Kansas City in 2025. One NFL writer is actively hoping that will be the case.
In his list of one player to root for from each AFC club in 2025, NFL Media’s Dan Parr has Pacheco making the cut for the Chiefs.
NFL Writer Hoping Isiah Pacheco Can Find ‘Pre-Injury Form’
In order to outline expectations for Pacheco’s future, Parr took a trip to the past. It wasn’t too long ago that the former seventh-round pick endeared himself to football fans with his constant energy on offense.
That didn’t manage to shine through last season, largely because of a broken fibula Pacheco suffered early in the year. Parr desires a healthy year from Pacheco and, thus, a return to form.
“I want to see one of the NFL’s angriest runners get back to his pre-injury form,” Parr wrote. “Pacheco made a habit of bulldozing through walls of defenders with aplomb in his first two years, but he suffered a fractured fibula in Week 2 of last season, which kept him out of nine games. When he returned in late November, he just wasn’t the same guy and finished the season with an average of 3.7 yards per carry, a full yard below his mark through the first two seasons. He has bulked up this offseason in an effort to bounce back, with Andy Reid saying he ‘looks tremendous.’ Here’s hoping Pacheco can recapture his spark in a contract year. When he’s on, few running backs are a more enjoyable watch.”
It isn’t too much of a stretch. Take Pacheco’s first two seasons, for instance. In year one on the job, he averaged 4.9 yards per carry and posted a 57.1% success rate on rushing attempts. While those figures fell to 4.6 and 50.7, respectively, in the next season, the former Rutgers standout became a receiving threat. Pacheco’s 2023 campaign saw him haul in 44 passes for 244 yards and a pair of scores.
Pacheco looked like his normal self before getting hurt. In the aforementioned Week 2 contest, he had 19 carries for 90 yards and five receptions.
Pacheco Still Favorite in Crowded Chiefs Backfield Picture
If health is working in Pacheco’s favor, focus then shifts to the rest of the Chiefs’ running back room. While it’s true that no one in this year’s group is a star – each player has questions to answer – there’s also a decent mix of depth. The presence of Kareem Hunt and Elijah Mitchell, specifically, might cut into Pacheco’s snaps.
Hunt didn’t re-sign to sit on the bench for Kansas City all year. It’s extremely unlikely that he matches his 2024 carry total of 200, but he’ll be in the game plan. A one-two punch of Pacheco and Hunt seems formidable and was the club’s goal once Pacheco returned late last season. Even in his age-30 season, Hunt will be a solid bruiser back in short-yardage situations. He’s also the best receiving back on the team right now.
Mitchell is the wild-card of the collective. It seems like forever ago that he rushed for 963 yards and 5 touchdowns with the San Francisco 49ers. He did so as a 23-year-old, and the former sixth-round pick is now 27 and looking to resurrect his career. But with just 16 games played in the last three seasons combined, he can’t be counted on to deliver the production some expect. A 100th-percentile outcome should be viewed as a bonus.
Then again, that’s the case for every Chiefs running back. Pacheco is no different.
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