Isiah Pacheco's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco carried the rock a career-high 24 times in last Saturday's wild-card rout of the Miami Dolphins, ending with 88 total yards and a whopping nine red-zone touches. With no sign of Jerick McKinnon (groin) and Clyde Edwards-Helaire not a legitimate threat to his role, Pacheco's bell-cow usage is likely here to stay for however long the Chiefs survive in the postseason. The Buffalo Bills have been vulnerable on the ground by tying for the third-most opponent yards per carry (4.6) in the regular season. Pacheco missed these two sides' Week 14 date following shoulder surgery, but it's worth mentioning that CEH was able to generate an efficient 5.2 yards per touch as the Chiefs' lead back. Checking in at $6,400 on DraftKings for the Divisional Round and scoring in five straight games, Pacheco is locked into both base-level and scoring-area work as an affordable three-down workhorse against an injury-ravaged defense.

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco braved the elements of Saturday's sub-zero conditions as the team topped the Miami Dolphins 26-7 on Super Wild Card Weekend, carrying the ball a career-high 24 times for 89 yards and one touchdown. Pacheco started hot, rushing for a 23-yard pickup on K.C.'s opening possession en route to a 65-yard first half. The second half was a quiet one for Pacheco until he took a direct snap on a trick play for a score to help the Chiefs pull away from a discombobulated Dolphins squad late. All things considered, the 24-year-old second-year man out of Rutgers ran hard -- as he always does -- in bitterly-cold temperatures and returned a solid fantasy output. Pacheco will deal with either the Buffalo Bills, who yielded the third-most yards per carry (4.6) this year, on the road or the Houston Texans (3.5 YPC allowed) at home in next weekend's Divisional clash.

Off Saturday's injury report, Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco (shoulder) proved in 2023 that his 2022 second-half surge was no fluke, taking a stranglehold on K.C.'s lead-back duties. Showing multi-dimensionality in his second year, Pacheco more than tripled his catch output from a year ago by pulling in 44 of his 49 targets. The hard-running 24-year-old ranked as a rock-solid RB2 throughout the season, placing as the RB14 in fantasy points per game (15.3), and he's heading into the postseason wild-card battle with the Miami Dolphins with a ton of steam. Pacheco is averaging 82.0 rushing yards on 16.2 carries with five total touchdowns over his last five outings, adding 4.0 catches for 16.8 yards per game. Miami is yielding the fourth-fewest opponent yards per carry (3.8), but the Chiefs could lean on Pacheco, who is an exciting DFS play, with strong winds and below-freezing temperatures in the forecast at Arrowhead Stadium.

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco (shoulder) was listed as a full participant in the team's first practice of the week on Tuesday. Pacheco didn't practice in full at all last week but was active for the Week 18 regular season finale against the Los Angeles Chargers. However, with the Chiefs already locked into the No. 3 seed, Pacheco didn't play any snaps as a precaution. The 24-year-old missed three of the team's final five games, although he did go off for 18 carries for 130 yards in Week 17. At his $6,400 price tag on DraftKings for wild-card weekend, Pacheco will be an attractive DFS play while going up a Dolphins defense that has been decimated by injuries at the tail end of the 2023 season. Pacheco was one of KC's primary offensive weapons during the regular season and should continue to be so in the playoffs as the Chiefs look to defend their Super Bowl title.

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco (quadricep, shoulder) is officially active for Week 18 versus the Los Angeles Chargers. He had been listed as questionable and, as NFL Network's Ian Rapoport noted earlier, is expected to occupy an emergency role on Sunday. This means that Pacheco will likely operate as the Chiefs' No. 3 running back behind Clyde Edwards-Helaire and La'Mical Perine. Fantasy managers should bench Pacheco this week given that there's no guarantee he'll play a snap. The Chiefs have already won the AFC West and have no reason to jeopardize the health of their key starters.