Reid on Isiah Pacheco: 'Most Guys Probably Wouldn't Have Come Back'

What They're Saying

Reid: "He was forcing that thing coming back [when he did]. Most guys probably wouldn't have come back. If you know him for a minute, you know he wasn't going to be held back. I think we'll get a better player this year."

2025 Fantasy Football Impact

Pacheco opened last season with 17 and 24 touches in the first two games, in a backfield that didn't yet include Kareem Hunt. (Kansas City signed him while Pacheco was out.)

That, of course, followed Pacheco averaging 12.1 carries and 1.8 receptions per game across his first two seasons, and going for 4.7 yards per rush.

He became Kansas City's workhorse over the second half of 2023, gaining receiving work and averaging 23.3 touches across the team's four playoff victories.

The Chiefs' early offseason moves to import a healthy Elijah Mitchell and bring Hunt back suggest we probably shouldn't expect a workhorse turn for Pacheco in 2025. But at full health, he should remain the best and most-used RB in a high-value offense.

ADP Movement

Pacheco has looked to me like one of the best values available since the start of best ball drafting -- and his ADP has dipped from the already attractive level.

He currently sits just 33rd among RBs in best ball ADP -- right behind Travis Etienne and Zach Charbonnet in Underdog Fantasy drafts.

Taking Charbonnet ahead of Pacheco is just a flat-out mistake when the latter is healthy. And Pacheco's ultimate ceiling reaches into RB1 territory. That's where he sat in ADP a year ago. And he finished 2023 ranked 14th among RBs in PPR points per game.

We'll see whether the Chiefs add a RB in the draft. But I don't anticipate an early-round addition there based on how quickly they addressed the backfield in free agency.