Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco: Doing well after offseason surgery
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Head coach Andy Reid said Monday that Pacheco is doing well after offseason surgeries to repair a broken bone in his hand and a torn labrum, but the running back doesn't have a return timeline yet, James Palmer of NFL Network reports.
Pacheco played through the injuries during the 2022 campaign and didn't miss a game, totaling 1,027 rushing yards and six touchdowns across 20 matchups (including the postseason). His availability during OTAs and other offseason workouts should provide further clarity on his rehab process and may provide a potential return timeline.
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Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco: Big effort in Super Bowl win
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Pacheco carried the ball 15 times for 76 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 38-35 Super Bowl win over the Eagles.
Pacheco dominated work out of the Chiefs backfield, out-carrying Jerick McKinnon, 15-4. He was productive with the work, highlighted by a long gain of 24 yards and also a one-yard touchdown plunge midway through the third quarter. After a surprisingly impressive rookie season during which he posted 830 rushing yards and five touchdowns across 17 regular-season games, Pacheco is likely to factor heavily into Kansas City's offensive plans in 2023.
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Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco: Contributes as pass catcher in win
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Pacheco rushed 10 times for 26 yards and secured five of six targets for 59 yards during the Chiefs' 23-20 win over the Bengals in Sunday's AFC Championship Game. He also returned two kickoffs for 45 yards.
Pacheco, who did an excellent job breaking tackles and getting to the second level throughout his rookie season, somewhat surprisingly found running room at a premium throughout Sunday's game, although he did have a 10-yard first-quarter touchdown run nullified due to offensive holding. However, with the Chiefs' wideout depth chart suffering some serious in-game attrition thanks to injuries to JuJu Smith-Schuster (knee), Mecole Hardman (pelvis) and Kadarius Toney (ankle), Pacheco recorded his highest reception, receiving yardage and target totals as a pro yet. The Rutgers product showed off some of the same penchant for getting past first contact as a pass catcher, and depending on the health of the aforementioned wideouts and backfield mate Clyde Edwards-Helaire (ankle, IR), Pacheco could be in for another busy day in the Super Bowl LVII matchup against the Eagles on Sunday, Feb. 12.
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Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco: Makes most of 13 touches
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Pacheco rushed the ball 12 times for 95 yards in Saturday's 27-20 win over the Jaguars. He added one reception for six yards.
Pacheco paced the Chiefs' backfield with 13 touches, and he was narrowly more involved than Jerick McKinnon. Pacheco made the most of his opportunity, and his effort was highlighted by a 39-yard gain midway through the second quarter -- a run that set up a one-yard touchdown catch for Travis Kelce two plays later. It remains to be seen how work will be split between Pacheco and McKinnon moving forward, particularly if the Chiefs find themselves in negative game script at any point during the AFC Championship Game.
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Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco: Big game to close regular season
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Pacheco rushed the ball eight times for 64 yards and a touchdown in Saturday's 31-13 win over the Raiders.
Pacheco paced the Chiefs in rushing yards, primarily thanks to a 31-yard scamper early in the fourth quarter. He also tallied his fifth rushing touchdown of the season on a one-yard plunge to cap the same offensive possession. Pacheco ends his rookie season having racked up 170 rushing attempts and 830 yards, though it remains to be seen how much he is trusted by the team during the postseason.
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Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco: Sleepers (Start/Sit)
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Jerick McKinnon is a must-start Fantasy running back at this point, but Pacheco can be used as a flex option against the Raiders in Week 18. The matchup is great since Las Vegas has allowed 11 of the past 12 opposing running backs to score at least 15 PPR points. While McKinnon is more likely to reach that total than Pacheco, this could be a game where the Chiefs lean on Pacheco prior to the playoffs. And he has scored at least 12 PPR points in four of his past six games.
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Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco: Sleeper RBs
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Jerick McKinnon is a must-start Fantasy running back at this point, but Pacheco can be used as a flex option against the Raiders in Week 18. The matchup is great since Las Vegas has allowed 11 of the past 12 opposing running backs to score at least 15 PPR points. While McKinnon is more likely to reach that total than Pacheco, this could be a game where the Chiefs lean on Pacheco prior to the playoffs. And he has scored at least 12 PPR points in four of his past six games.
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Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco: Finds end zone in win
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Pacheco rushed nine times for 31 yards and a touchdown and brought in both targets for 18 yards in the Chiefs' 27-24 win over the Broncos on Sunday.
Pacheco's five-yard touchdown rush just before the halfway point of the first quarter opened the scoring on the day. The rookie's trip to the end zone was his first since Week 13, although his carries were his fewest since Week 9. Fantasy managers holding Pacheco on Week 18 fantasy championship rosters will hope for a larger rushing workload in a road matchup against the vulnerable Raiders defense in Kansas City's regular-season finale, in which they'll still be aiming for the top seed in the AFC.
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Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco: Racks up 90 yards on 15 touches
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Pacheco rushed 14 times for 58 yards and caught one of two targets for 32 receiving yards in Saturday's 24-10 win over Seattle.
Pacheco led Kansas City's backfield with 14 carries, out-touching Jerick McKinnon 15 to eight. The former got the heavier workload as the team chewed up clock up two scores in the second half. Pacheco continues to outproduce his veteran teammate on the ground, but it has been McKinnon providing superior fantasy value with five touchdowns over his last three games (including another receiving touchdown Saturday). The 23-year-old has been providing a high fantasy floor since taking over for Clyde Edwards-Helaire midseason, and he could see see his value soar if he can convert more opportunities from in close for scores. Pacheco remains a solid play against the Broncos next Sunday.
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Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco: Just short of century mark Sunday
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Pacheco carried the ball 13 times for 70 yards and caught all three of his targets for 23 yards in Sunday's 34-28 win over the Broncos.
The rookie took a back seat to Jerick McKinnon in this one as his veteran backfield mate piled up 134 combined yards and two receiving TDs, but Pacheco still posted the second-highest scrimmage-yards total of his young career. He seems poised for success in Week 15 against a Texans defense that just coughed up 143 combined yards and three touchdowns to the Cowboys RB duo of Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott.
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Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco: RBs to Start
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Pacheco has been fantastic for the Chiefs over the past three games, and I like that he's getting more involved in the passing game with three catches on three targets in his past two outings against the Rams and Bengals. He either has a touchdown or 100 rushing yards in three games in a row, and he's averaging 13.0 PPR points over that span. His matchup at Denver is favorable this week since the Broncos have allowed three running backs to rush for at least 109 yards in their past five games. Kansas City is a heavy road favorite in this matchup (-9.5 on Caesars Sportsbook), and Pacheco should be able to close out Denver with his legs in the second half. He's a solid No. 2 running back in all leagues.
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Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco: Sleeper RBs
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Clyde Edwards-Helaire (ankle) is on injured reserve, and Pacheco's stock is on the rise for the past two weeks. Over that span against the Jaguars and Chargers, Pacheco has 31 carries for 189 yards. He hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 1 and has just one catch for 4 yards in his past four games on one target, but he's worth using as a flex option in all leagues, with his value higher in non-PPR formats. The Chiefs are favored by two touchdowns against the Rams at home, and hopefully Pacheco gets plenty of work to help Kansas City finish off a win in Week 12. And the Rams have allowed a running back to score at least 11 PPR points in seven games in a row. Jerick McKinnon can also be considered a sleeper in this matchup.
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Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco: Tops 100 yards for first time
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Pacheco rushed 15 times for 107 yards in Sunday's 30-27 win over the Chargers. He was not targeted in the passing game.
Pacheco led Kansas City's rushing attack for the second consecutive week, rewarding the coaching decision with his first career 100-yard rushing game. Clyde Edwards-Helaire (ankle) went down before halftime and did not return, but he was already being phased out of the offensive game plan due to inconsistent play. Jerick McKinnon remained involved with seven touches for 24 yards, but he lost a fumble late in the fourth quarter that nearly cost the Chiefs the game. Pacheco is looking more and more like the clear lead back on a potent offense, which should have fantasy managers excited heading into a Week 12 matchup against the Rams next Sunday.
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Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco: Sleepers (Start/Sit)
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I like Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon as sleepers this week against the Chargers. Pacheco just had a career-high 16 carries for 82 yards in Week 10 against Jacksonville, and he appears to be the lead rusher for Kansas City ahead of Clyde Edwards-Helaire and McKinnon. In non- and 0-5-PPR leagues, Pacheco is worth using as a flex option against the Chargers, who have allowed 10 running backs to score at least 13 PPR points in their past eight games. McKinnon is the safest of the trio given his work in the passing game, and his role could increase if JuJu Smith-Schuster (concussion) and Mecole Hardman (abdomen) are out. McKinnon has eight targets and six catches in consecutive games against Tennessee and Jacksonville, and he scored at least 10 PPR points in each outing.
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Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco: Sleeper RBs
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I like Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon as sleepers this week against the Chargers. Pacheco just had a career-high 16 carries for 82 yards in Week 10 against Jacksonville, and he appears to be the lead rusher for Kansas City ahead of Clyde Edwards-Helaire and McKinnon. In non- and 0-5-PPR leagues, Pacheco is worth using as a flex option against the Chargers, who have allowed 10 running backs to score at least 13 PPR points in their past eight games. McKinnon is the safest of the trio given his work in the passing game, and his role could increase with JuJu Smith-Schuster (concussion) and Mecole Hardman (abdomen) out. McKinnon has eight targets and six catches in consecutive games against Tennessee and Jacksonville, and he scored at least 10 PPR points in each outing.
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Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco: Elevated workload in win
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Pacheco rushed 16 times for 82 yards in the Chiefs' 27-17 win over the Jaguars on Sunday. He also lost a fumble.
The rookie put together a solid effort overall with a career-high carry total, setting a new high-water mark in rushing yardage in the process. Pacheco has now produced over 60 rushing yards on all three occasions in which he's logged double-digit attempts, but head coach Andy Reid doesn't typically give his ground attack as much attention as it received Sunday.
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Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco: Minimal output Sunday night
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Pacheco recorded five carries for five yards and caught his only target for four yards during Sunday's 20-17 overtime victory over the Titans.
Pacheco started the game but finished the night with only 22 total offensive snaps (22 percent), surpassing Clyde Edwards-Helaire (17 snaps) but falling well short of Jerick McKinnon (62 snaps). Game script played a role in this snap distribution, with McKinnon being the team's primary passing-down back and Kansas City trailing for much of the second half. Still, it's worth noting that McKinnon played the entire overtime drive when the game was even. Regardless, it's a fluid Chiefs backfield situation where none of the trio holds a consistent weekly value from a fantasy perspective.
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Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco: Limited role in loss
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Pacheco rushed two times for nine yards and caught both of his targets for nine yards in Sunday's 24-20 loss to the Bills.
Pacheco was ineffective on limited touches in a game where the Chiefs struggled to get anything going on the ground. Though the rookie running back has shown flashes of talent when involved, he remains difficult to trust for fantasy purposes in Kansas City's backfield rotation. Pacheco will likely find himself in an uphill battle for touches when the Chiefs visit the 49ers in Week 7.
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Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco: Week 5 Waiver Priority List
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Pacheco looked solid in Week 4 at Tampa Bay with 11 carries for 63 yards, and he's a good lottery ticket in case something happens to Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Pacheco has two games this season with double digits in carries, and he's averaging over 5.0 yards per carry. Edwards-Helaire has been fantastic for the Chiefs, but if he misses any time we could see a tandem for Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon. In that scenario, Pacheco would likely get the majority of carries and touchdown opportunities, and he's worth stashing in all formats for 5 percent of your remaining FAB.
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Chiefs' Isiah Pacheco: New No. 2?
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Pacheco rushed 11 times for 63 yards in Sunday's 41-31 win over Tampa Bay.
Pacheco was limited to just five snaps last week, so it was surprising to see him usurp Jerick McKinnon (two carries for negative one yard) as the change-of-pace back behind Clyde Edwards-Helaire. The seventh-round pick took full advantage of the increased playing time, running with purpose and needing multiple defenders to bring him to a halt. Pacheco may not have immediate fantasy value against the Raiders next Monday -- especially with CEH going off this week -- but his stock definitely rose following Sunday's performance.
