Big OTAs For Chiefs' Running Backs

Last season, the Kansas City Chiefs' running game took a major hit. The run game for the Chiefs was not good, and opposing teams took advantage of it. Where the Chiefs took a hit was when starting running back Isiah Pacheco got injured early in the season in 2024. The Chiefs tried different things and even brought in veteran running back Kareem Hunt, but it was just not the same.

This offseason, the Chiefs added to their running back room. They signed veteran running back Elijah Mitchell in free agency. And in the 2025 NFL Draft, they selected running back Brashard Smith out of SMU. The Chiefs will also have Hunt and Pacheco back.

As OTAs continue for the Chiefs, it is going to be an important one for all running backs. This is where it starts for all of them. The Chiefs want to build a running back room that they can count on and take a little pressure off quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

"These OTAs will be interesting to watch, however, because we’ll be watching not only to see if a healthy Pacheco has his spark back. We’ll also be seeing if his explosion makes a return as well," said The Kansas City Star.

"Chiefs coach Andy Reid provided some great insight on Pacheco when we spoke with him at the NFL Owners Meeting in March, admitting that the running back rushed back from a fibula injury last season."

“Most guys probably wouldn’t have come back (from his injury), but if you know him for about a minute, you’ll know that he wasn’t going to be held back,” Reid said. “So I think you’ll get even a better player this year,” Reid said. The difference in the typically speedy Pacheco was apparent on film. 

“He was physically OK to go. But when you’re looking at it, it’s minute stuff,” Reid said, talking about rewatching the tape. “Just maybe that ability to cut as quick as he did before. Now it’s still quick, but you’re talking inches here. Was it what he could do before? Well, it wasn’t.”

"Pacheco, 26, faces a critical year. He’s in the last year of his rookie contract, and historic age curves indicate that running backs often decline quicker than other positions. The good news for Pacheco? KC appears to be giving him every chance to reassert himself as the team’s RB1 if he’s healthy in 2025."

"Yes, the Chiefs signed Elijah Mitchell in free agency and also brought back Kareem Hunt. But KC also didn’t take a running back early in the draft to compete for the top running back role, as seventh-round pick Brashard Smith appears to project more as a kick returner/third-down back type.
It’s on Pacheco, then, to prove he can be the player he once was in KC’s offense."

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