Isiah Pacheco reportedly has a broken fibula and will miss a big chunk of the regular (and fantasy football) season with the injury. With question marks at running back, how can fantasy managers adjust their expectations for Carson Steele and Samaje Perine?
Fantasy Football Impact of Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco Injury
Rest of Season Isiah Pacheco Expectations
Depending on the severity of the fracture, Pacheco could miss anywhere from six weeks to the entire regular season. Even if he returns to the active roster, it will take him time to ramp up. The Chiefs are looking to make a deep postseason run, and could opt to put Pacheco on ice even if he’s available sooner. For fantasy football purposes, Pacheco a stash on IR player unless we receive positive news about his injury sooner. For leagues without an IR, wait until there is some clarity on the timeline before making the tough decision to drop him.
Carson Steele Expectations
For most offenses, a 4.79 40 fullback isn’t enticing for fantasy football. For the Kansas City Chiefs, Steele becomes a touchdown dependent RB2/FLEX play. He doesn’t bring much in the passing game, but after Pacheco went down on Sunday Steele picked up the majority of the rushing work. It’s unlikely that either player picks up all of Pacheco’s work, and they become matchup dependent plays rather than the clear starter that Pacheco was for our fantasy teams.
Samaje Perine Expectations
Jerrick McKinnon was a must start fantasy RB when he owned the majority of the passing work to close 2022. Perine’s calling card is his ability in the passing game, and Steele doesn’t bring much on that front. As the NFL moves to more dink and dunk type offenses, a checkdown running back in PPR leagues can be extremely viable. Predicting which weeks he’ll receive 5 or more targets will be frustrating, but as bye weeks and injuries pile up Perine can be a Band-Aid for fantasy rosters. He’s worth an add, but isn’t the type of player to blow all of your FAAB on.
Isiah Pacheco Dynasty Outlook Following Injury
Pacheco is currently valued as the RB10 on fantasycalc, which takes trades made in real leagues to evaluate a player’s relative value. This is sure to decrease, but how far is too far? There are players behind him that help teams win now (Alvin Kamara, Joe Mixon, Josh Jacobs) but also players behind him with more job security for 2025 and beyond (Jonathon Brooks, Rhamondre Stevenson, Brian Robinson). For rebuilding teams looking for a chance at a starting running back, he’s worth a trade offer of an aging running back that can help the other team now, but it’s a risky bet to make.
The 2025 running back class is one of the strongest we’ve seen in years, and with the Chiefs set at most of their major cornerstone positions, they could splurge on a playmaker for next season. It’s best to either hold until after the draft if you want to gamble on the Chiefs not adding someone, or sell now before the buzz gets too loud to ignore.
Main Photo Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
