Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco has been one of the biggest risers in fantasy football, but that could change with Samaje Perine in the picture. Originally a seventh-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Pacheco overcame his unremarkable draft capital to establish himself as a legitimate weapon in both real and fantasy football. Last year, the running back finished the season as the RB16 in half-PPR formats while recording 935 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 205 carries.
Pacheco’s biggest fantasy limitation to date has been his relative lack of involvement in the passing. Splitting snaps with Jerick McKinnon, Pacheco finished the year with a respectable 44 receptions but only recorded 244 receiving yards. With McKinnon out of the picture, some believed Pacheco could take over as a true three-down back. However, now that Samaje Perine is in the picture, could Pacheco’s workload revert to career norms?
IsIah Pacheco's ADP has been steadily climbing for the majority of BBM
Currently at 31.9
With Samaje Perine signing and likely playing a bit of the McKinnon role, where do you think Pacheco's ADP finishes? pic.twitter.com/cMHV04h98c
— Justin Herzig (@JustinHerzig) August 28, 2024
Fantasy Football: Isiah Pacheco, Samaje Perine Outlook
According to FantasyPros, Isiah Pacheco is currently the 11th running back off the board and the 22nd overall selection in half-PPR drafts. This could change with Samaje Perine, but it’s clear that the consensus believed the running back was ready to take on a larger workload. Even without Perine, this probably shouldn’t have happened. Pacheco is a ferocious north-south runner who earns his early-down work, but he’s nothing special as a receiver. The entire argument for his increased workload was that somebody needed to catch passes, and that type of analysis rarely works out for fantasy football.
Coaches can talk all they want about increasing a player’s workload in the offseason, but nine times out of 10 that turns out to be nothing but white noise. Last year at this time, Alexander Mattison ruined several fantasy teams because Dalvin Cook was gone and somebody needed to handle all those touches. Isiah Pacheco is better than Mattison, but nothing about his profile suggests he can handle a three-down workload to justify a top-10 positional ADP. Much like McKinnon, Samaje Perine is a decent enough receiver who will see a sizable portion of the passing work.
Carson Steele’s Impact
Of course, Samaje Perine isn’t the only new addition to the backfield. Ironically enough, Pacheco owes a sizable portion of last year’s success to the lack of competition in Kansas City’s backfield. While McKinnon took his share of targets, nobody could challenge Pacheco for carries and goal-line work. That won’t be the case in 2024, as undrafted free agent Carson Steele made a name for himself with an impressive preseason. While he’s clearly the backup running back, Pete Sweeney of Arrowhead Pride believes Steele will “become the go-to for short yardage and touchdowns at the goal line.”
It’s hard to envision a world where Carson Steele takes all of the touchdown opportunities, but his presence likely puts a ceiling on how effective Isiah Pacheco can be as a run-first fantasy football option. With Samaje Perine ensuring Pacheco won’t suddenly receive 100 targets, look for Pacheco to put together another high-end RB2 season in 2024.
Main Photo: Isaiah J. Downing – USA Today Sports
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