Isiah Pacheco 2025 NFL Redraft Outlook: A Potential Value RB1?

The Chiefs Kingdom knows what championship DNA looks like, and it runs right through Isiah Pacheco. This wasn’t supposed to be the story when Kansas City selected him in the seventh round back in 2022. Most draft analysts had him pegged as a practice squad candidate, maybe a special teams contributor if he was lucky. But champions aren’t made in draft rooms: they’re forged in the fire of competition.

You can’t tell Pacheco’s story without understanding where he came from. Growing up in Vineland, New Jersey, this kid learned early that nothing comes easy. At Rutgers, he wasn’t the flashiest back in the Big Ten, but he had s omething scouts couldn’t measure on a stopwatch: pure heart.

When the Chiefs brought him in as their final pick of the 2022 draft, Pacheco didn’t see it as charity. He saw it as an opportunity. While other rookies were worrying about their signing bonuses, Pacheco was studying game film and hitting the weight room like his life depended on it.

By Week 7 of his rookie season, something magical happened. The coaching staff couldn’t ignore what they were seeing in practice anymore. Isiah Pacheco wasn’t just surviving NFL hits – he was delivering them right back. When they finally gave him his shot as the starter, he grabbed it with both hands and never let go.

Isiah Pacheco 2024 Stats and Fantasy Production

Let’s talk facts for a minute. In 2023, Pacheco exploded onto the scene as a legitimate fantasy football weapon, finishing as the 14th-ranked running back in points per game. His role expanded dramatically from his rookie campaign, with his routes per game doubling and h is target share growing alongside his ground game dominance.

But here’s what those spreadsheet warriors miss: Isiah Pacheco is the guy who makes something out of nothing. His career average of 3.5 yards per carry on poorly blocked plays tells you everything you need to know about his vision and determination. When the offensive line breaks down, when the play call gets blown up, when championship dreams hang in the balance: that’s when Pacheco shines brightest.

The 2024 season tested his resolve like never before. A fibula fracture in Week 2 could have derailed everything. Lesser players might have packed it in, focused on getting healthy for the following year. Not Pacheco. He clawed his way back onto the field, even when his numbers weren’t pretty in those final six games. Champions play hurt, and cha mpions play for something bigger than individual statistics.

Here’s where the story gets exciting for fantasy managers and Chiefs fans alike. Kansas City’s running back room underwent a complete renovation this offseason, but all signs point to Isiah Pacheco emerging as the clear-cut alpha.

Sure, they brought back Kareem Hunt and added some fresh faces like Carson Steele from 2024, free agent signing Elijah Mitchell, and rookie Brashard Smith. But preseason usage tells the real story. In the first two exhibition games, Pacheco got the starter’s reps while the new guys fought for scraps. When a team trusts Carson Steele, a player they barely used once the regular season started last year, over their shiny new additions, that’s telling you something loud and clear.

Hunt might have the name recognition, but his 3.4 yards per carry over the past two seasons isn’t exactly striking fear into defensive coordinators’ hearts. Mitchell and Smith haven’t even sniffed meaningful playing time in the preseason rotation.

Isiah Pacheco 2025 Fantasy Outlook