Isiah Pacheco put together another solid performance in preseason, this time the former Rutgers football star performing in his new home with the Kansas City Chiefs.
It was a strong performance from Pacheco in a 24-14 win over the Washington Commanders. He had eight rushing yards on four carries along with two catches for 16 yards. The former all-Big Ten selection also had a kickoff return for 26 yards.
For more background on the second preseason game, make sure to read Charles Goodman (follow him here) of ChiefsWire and his instant analysis of the strong Kansas City performance on Saturday.
It was a strong, solid performance from Pacheco, who was a seventh-round pick of the Chiefs in this spring’s NFL draft.
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Pacheco, who played four years at Rutgers, got the majority of his reps on Saturday with the first-team offense and starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“Definitely I feel like I’m doing good,” Pacheco told reporters via ChiefsWire. “Playing fast, that’s the most important thing and being able to protect first and foremost for Pat.”
Saturday was also significant for Pacheco as he got an opportunity to play at Arrowhead Stadium for the first time in his NFL career. In fact, it was just Pacheco’s second time in his new football home.
#Chiefs HC Andy Reid knows they’ve got some work to do on the run-game: “We can do a little bit better in the run-game part of it, but the pass-game part of it, I thought was very efficient.”
— Charles Goldman (@goldmctNFL) August 21, 2022
The experience, playing in front of the most fanatical fans in the NFL, is something that left an impression on the Chiefs running back.
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“It felt crazy. You know, second game actually attending an NFL game,” Pacheco said.
“In the game, it felt dope to be out there and get a good look in our stadium…first time inside the stadium since I’ve been here, on the field. I definitely felt prepared for what we had going out there.”
Last season at Rutgers, Pacheco has 647 rushing yards on on 167 carries for five touchdowns as part of an offense that was rebuilding. Last week, Pacheco credited the program and head coach Greg Schiano for helping to prepare him for the next level.
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With the Chiefs, Pacheco is looking like a player who should be able to help on special teams and factor into what is now a deep and versatile backfield rotation.
“You know just whatever coach wants me to do,” Pacheco said. “Just being able to anticipate, being able to play fast (and) going out there and making sure to protect the quarterback, first and foremost.”
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