Will Isiah Pacheco Continue to Rise the Dynasty Ranks? – Dynasty Nerds
Pacheco went from a seventh-round pick with very little fanfare to demolishing training camp and earning a spot on the Kansas City Chiefs star-studded roster as the third running back on the roster. It didn’t take long for him to outperform Clyde Edwards-Helaire and impress Head Coach Andy Reid. By Week Nine, the rushing part of the Chiefs’ backfield belonged solely to Isiah Pacheco. Clyde and pass-catching back Jerick McKinnon mixed in, but Pacheco saw seven weeks in a row with at least 13 carries. He rose from waiver wire fodder to RB2 status in the dynasty world really fast.
This season is crucial for Pacheco to continue to grow as a rusher and blocker. The Kansas City Chiefs will forever be a pass-first offense thanks to Patrick Mahomes being the quarterback. That doesn’t mean that Pacheco can’t thrive in the 2023 season. Thanks to Mahomes, rushing lanes are wide open and aplenty. Isiah knows how to find the right hole and gash the defense for big yardages. If the 24-year-old can learn how to block better, Andy Reid will use him more in passing downs and sequences. That will earn Pacheco some valuable time on the field, especially in the red zone. While it remains to be seen if that can happen as CEH and the solid McKinnon are back once again, one thing is for certain. Isiah Pacheco is the RB1 of the Kansas City Chiefs’ lethal offense.
Pacheco is a hard dynasty asset to nail down his future. He’s locked into the Chiefs for three more seasons which is a great thing. However, it also limits his upside, especially while McKinnon is there. It’s a mystery, too, because he was a seventh-round pick. Kansas City can easily pick a higher guy in next year’s draft. Then, Pacheco is on the bench or in the RB2 spot. That would be a death knell to his dynasty stock.