Mojo Player Spotlight: Isiah Pacheco, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

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It’s Dion Lewis time. 

Back in 2017, New England’s Dion Lewis inherited the starting running back job in Week 11. Lewis started the season as the team’s RB3, buried behind both Mike Gillislee and Rex Burkhead to start the year. Lewis finished as the RB8 that week against the Raiders, posting 88 total yards, four receptions, and a touchdown. Over the final six games, Lewis tallied 13 or more carries five times, totaled 18 receptions, and added five touchdowns. He was a clear fantasy football league-winner, and helped the Patriots return to yet another Super Bowl. 

As we enter the final third of the 2022 season, there will be plenty of opportunities for young players to impact winning for their teams. More importantly, there will be fantastic buying opportunities on Mojo to invest in stock prices for players in these situations. 

Let’s take a look at a player who could be this year’s Dion Lewis: Kansas City’s Isiah Pacheco.

Mojo Spotlight: Isiah Pacheco

Isiah Pacheco played four seasons at Rutgers, earning the starting job as a sophomore after tallying 551 yards as a freshman. Pacheco developed into a strong pass-catching backfield option, posting 13 or more receptions in each of his next three seasons. He finished his career at Rutgers with over 2400 rushing yards and 19 total touchdowns. Pacheco’s production was even more impressive when you consider Rutgers’ brutally poor offensive line. 

Despite an impressive college production profile, Pacheco fell to the seventh round of this year’s NFL Draft, selected by Kansas City. His 4.37 40-Yard Dash at the NFL Combine illustrated his explosive, big-play ability. As Pacheco entered training camp, there was a buzz that he could ascend up the running back depth chart quickly. The Chiefs were uncertain on Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s early-down ability, and veteran Ronald Jones hardly seemed an insurmountable obstacle. 

On Oct. 23, head coach Andy Reid announced that Pacheco would serve as Kansas City’s starting running back for their Week 7 battle against San Francisco. The rookie was stifled by the 49ers strong run defense, only managing 43 total yards on just a 30.6% snap share. While most viewed Pacheco’s production as disappointing, he still received the most rushing attempts (eight) and did find a way to rip off a 17-yard scamper, breaking multiple tackles along the way. Pacheco fans were even more concerned after the Chiefs bye week, when he struggled even more against the Titans in Week 9. Pacheco was schemed out of the Kansas City offense, as quarterback Patrick Mahomes needed to throw 68 times to guide the Chiefs to a 20-17 comeback win at home. Both of those games had an interesting effect on Pacheco’s stock price at Mojo. 

Going Forward

Entering the season, Pacheco’s Mojo price hovered around $2.10. He was stuck behind Edwards-Helaire, Jones and even veteran Jerick McKinnon to an extent. However, after seeing 12 carries in Week 1 against Arizona, his price per share skyrocketed to $5.58 Sept. 17. However, after seeing just five carries over the next two weeks, investors started selling Pacheco, gradually decreasing his price. Even after a short value bump after the Oct. 23 announcement, investors still didn’t buy into Pacheco’s upside. His share price returned to $4.53 per share as recently as last Saturday.

However, Pacheco impressed in Sunday’s 27-17 Chiefs win over Jacksonville, totaling 82 yards with a 5.1 yards per carry average. Even more impressive? Reid stayed with Pacheco despite a first-quarter fumble. Seeing veteran Edwards-Helaire only play four snaps, and Pacheco tote 16 of the 17 running back carries is very promising for his rest-of-season value. 

Kansas City now has the incredible benefit of facing the NFL’s easiest slate of run defenses from Weeks 11-15. Pacheco should feast off the defensive fronts of the Rams, Broncos, and Texans during this period. 

The running back for the Chiefs is always in an ideal position for weekly production. There are a ton of opportunities that come on the ground and through the air as the lead RB behind All-Pro quarterback Patrick Mahomes. I am “all-in” on Pacheco at Mojo and see a fantastic opportunity for a lucrative late-season investment in Kansas City’s explosive rookie rusher.