FANTASY FOOTBALL NEWS

Is it Time to Cut Isiah Pacheco?

By Shane Hallam | Updated on Mon, Sep 29 2025 4:29 AM UTC

Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco only ran the ball seven times for 35 yards against the Ravens. Pacheco’s fantasy output still looked fine with two catches for 13 yards and a TD, but his declining usage underscores the inability to start him in fantasy. Pacheco was out-snapped by Kareem Hunt 27 to 32 and outrushed by him 7 to 13. With rookie RB Brashard Smith also earning 19 snaps, Pacheco could be a cut candidate in shallow leagues.

2025 Fantasy Football Impact

The score helped make Pacheco’s fantasy game look good, but 9 touches will never be enough at RB to consistently put up fantasy points. He was efficient on the ground with five yards per carry, but nothing in the game pointed to Pacheco earning more playing time.

The three-headed monster of the Chiefs backfield makes all of them nearly useless bench stashes in hopes of an injury or change.

We have consistently dropped Pacheco down our Rest of Season rankings and he may soon become a cut recommendation in our Free Agent Finder in some leagues.

Check yours later in the week to see where Pacheco stands.

Ultimately, he is a tough cut in deeper leagues because holding a potential piece of Chiefs' offense can be valuable. But if the snaps and touches are down plus the Chiefs are moving toward more passing, it could be disaster for Pacheco the rest of the season.

Shane Hallam, Writer

Shane has over 20 years of experience creating content and playing every fantasy football format, including redraft, dynasty, devy, C2C, IDP, CFF, and more. He is a multi-year winner of $500 dynasty leagues on the FFPC and a King's Classic Champion. Shane utilizes deep film and scheme study to enhance his fantasy performance. He led the industry in 2024 preseason Kicker Rankings and ranked second in preseason QB Rankings. He also ranked eighth in preseason IDP rankings.