In the Kansas City Chiefs’ training camp with Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelsey, Juju Smith-Shuster and two first-round picks (Trent McDuffee and George Karlaftis), none of them were the most popular player. This is seventh round runner Isaiah Pacheco. Here’s everything you need to know about the rookie sensation for the 2022 NFL season.
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Who is Chiefs rookie running back Isaiah Pacheco?
NFL teams drafted 21 college running backs in the 2022 NFL Draft before the Kansas City Chiefs drafted Rutgers RB Isaiah Pacheco. The former Scarlet Knight finished 251st overall, just 11 spots short of the final pick, 2022 Mister Irrelevant, Brock Purdy.
Pacheco is a New Jersey native who stayed in college, moving to Rutgers in 2017.
In four years under head coaches Chris Ash and then Greg Sciano, Pacheco ran 563 times for 2,422 yards and threw 18 rushing touchdowns. He also added 47 catches for 249 yards and one TD. Year after year, its production looked like this:
| YEAR | GAMES | CARRY | RUSH DWORDS | TD | REC | REC YARDS | TD |
| 2018 | eleven | 111 | 551 | 3 | 2 | eleven | 0 |
| 2019 | eleven | 169 | 729 | 7 | 13 | 83 | 0 |
| 2020 | 9 | 116 | 515 | 3 | 19 | 130 | one |
| 2021 | 12 | 167 | 647 | 5 | 13 | 25 | 0 |
After his senior year, Isaiah Pacheco went to the NFL combine and performed well. He is 5’11”, 216 pounds, and ran 40 yards in 4.37.
Despite his performance and excellent measurable numbers, Pacheco nearly dropped out of the draft before the Chiefs picked him up with the 30th overall pick in the final round.
Rookie runner wins Chiefs training camp and preseason.
Isaiah Pacheco came to the Chiefs training camp with little or no expectations. In fact, with Clyde Edwards-Heler, Jerich McKinnon, Ronald Jones and Derrick Gore leading him on the depth chart, the chances of him making the team were slim.
However, Pacheco impressed with the jump with his run, catch and kick back. He had no light in practice and made 16 carries for 66 yards and three catches for 21 yards in three preseason games. Those numbers don’t jump off the page, but that’s because Andy Reid is using Pacheco in preseason as a defenseman who will play a lot in the regular season.
Isaiah Pacheco beat Gore, who was cut by the Chiefs with a thumb injury, and now Jones is on the block. It looks like Pacheco will also seriously challenge Edwards-Heler and McKinnon when the regular season kicks off.
Isaiah Pacheco has gone from being a regular running back at Rutgers to a well-known prospect who can make some serious noise with one of the most powerful offenses in the NFL.
We’ll have to wait until the regular season starts to really see Pacheco’s role in Andy Reed and Patrick Mahomes’ offense, but right now the potential for this rookie is huge.
All statistics provided Sports information
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