The Kansas City Chiefs did not exactly have a great rushing attack this past season, and much of that had to do with the fact that Isiah Pacheco missed considerable time.
Pacheco played in just seven games in 2024, as he was sidelined for a significant chunk of time due to a broken fibula. Even upon returning, Pacheco wasn’t all that effective and ultimately took a backseat to Kareem Hunt in the playoffs.
So, the news about the Chiefs not wanting to extend Pacheco before the start of the 2025 season should not come as too much of a surprise. In fact, it’s a smart decision by Kansas City.
Pacheco has been in the NFL for three seasons, and while he has certainly shown flashes, he has not achieved enough for the Chiefs to put their trust in him moving forward.
The 26-year-old has appeared in just 21 contests over the last couple of years, and when he was on the field this past season, he wasn’t great, rushing for 310 yards and a touchdown while averaging a meager 3.7 yards per carry.
There is a lot to like about Pacheco. He runs hard, and he has shown that he can be a very capable receiver out of the backfield. However, he has had too many stretches where he was largely ineffective, and the injury history is concerning.
Kansas City has some monetary issues right now as it is, so extending Pacheco wouldn’t exactly be the most prudent financial decision for the future.
The Chiefs are right in wanting to see Pacheco prove himself before committing to him long term, especially given the fact that Kansas City has won each of its three Super Bowls without a dominant ground game.
The pendulum may be swinging back the other way in the NFL, as the Philadelphia Eagles just became the first team in nearly a decade to win a championship with a 1,000-yard rusher, but let’s be honest: the running back position has still been marginalized in today’s game.
That means the Chiefs need to be very careful about throwing money to a halfback, especially with their Super Bowl window at stake.
