It was not an ideal season opener for the Kansas City Chiefs, but in Thursday night’s loss, running back Isiah Pacheco showcased an emerging part of his game. The former Rutgers football running back is developing into an important part of the Chiefs offense.
Pacheco had four catches for 32 yards in the season opener. Last year in the regular season as a rookie, Pacheco never had more than three catches in a game (though he did have five catches in the AFC Championship Game).
In 2022, including all three playoff games, Pacheco finished with 1,127 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns (his final rushing touchdown came in the second quarter of the Super Bowl). The former Rutgers fooball sandout had 19 catches for 165 receiving yards.
Thursday night was some tough sledding for Pacheco, with just eight carries for 23 yards. Bu showing off the ability to provide a spark in the passing game could and should elevate his production this year.
4. Isiah Pacheco’s receiving usage was promising
Pacheco had a rough night on the ground, averaging just 2.9 a carry
BUT he had 4 targets, more than CEH and McKinnon combined!
Pacheco’s 10% target share is promising
Now he just needs to take over the ground game pic.twitter.com/WqtD5fZ6z0
— Chris O’Brien (@17gamepace) September 8, 2023
The Chiefs had just 90 yards rushing and averaged 3.9 yards per carry in their loss.
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Pacheco was a Day 3 selection of Kansas City in the 2022 NFL draft, following an All-Big Ten career at Rutgers.