Entering the league as a seventh-round pick, Kansas City Chiefs rookie running back Isiah Pacheco had no guarantees he would even make the team.
But after being a backup the first six games, Pacheco has started the last three weeks. And last week against the Jaguars, the Chiefs saw a revival in the run game as Pacheco carried 16 times for 82 yards — both career highs.
“For me, it wasn’t no talking,” Pacheco said Wednesday as the team prepped for Sunday’s game against the Chargers. “It was keep your head down, keep working. If they call your number be ready to go and execute.
“You never know when your number’s going to be called. So when it’s called, make sure you’re ready to go. You never know what’s going to happen in this football season.”
That’s certainly true for Pacheco. He began the year as the team’s kick returner and backup to 2020 first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Pacheco, however, worked his way up the depth chart and supplanted Edwards-Helaire as the team’s starting running back in Week 7.
But after Pacheco fumbled inside the red zone last week, Chiefs coach Andy Reid easily could’ve sat him down but didn’t. Instead, on the next possession, Reid went right back to Pacheco, showing his confidence in the rookie from Rutgers.
“It showed me that I could be something in this offense,” Pacheco said. “And for me to just continue to put in that work and work on my pad level so in the games that doesn’t happen.”
And though he’s no longer the starter, Edwards-Helaire showed his support for Pacheco after Pacheco fumbled. The former LSU star talked to Pacheco on the sideline and told him to keep his head up.
“It’s a brotherhood in that running back room,” Pacheco said. “We’re pushing one another. We’re giving each other examples of how we could’ve hit runs better. What did they see here? What did they see from the sideline. So we’re building. In this room there’s a lot of football left, and we need all the guys to compete here to win.”
On the season, Pacheco has carried the ball 60 times for 279 yards and a touchdown while adding three catches for 13 yards as a receiver. And though the 5-foot-11, 215-pound Pacheco is still learning on the fly, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said he hasn’t been surprised by Pacheco’s early success.
“He’s a smart guy,” Mahomes said. “This offense is hard, especially that running back position, to learn because you have to know all the protections, all the routes, you have to run the ball. And we have different types of run schemes.
“And for him, he has all the talent in the world. So now he’s just going to get better and better as he learns the tricks of the trade, and go out there and make stuff happen where this read might not be exactly how it was scouted during the week, but how can I make this run work? And as he gets more and more reps he’ll get even better.”
When the Chiefs faced the Chargers in Week 2 in Kanas City, Pacheco had just two carries for six yards. But Pacheco has the same mindset whether he’s starting or not.
“It’s a one-game season,” Pacheco said. “I play like it’s a one-game season. Every week come ready to roll, and for us it starts on the practice field today.”
