Despite being a seventh-round star with two Super Bowl rings, Kansas City Chiefs’ running back Isiah Pacheco doesn’t rank high on a new list by Pro Football Focus.
From the seventh round … to stardom.
It’s no secret that running backs are no longer vital to the modern NFL offense.
The Kansas City Chiefs, for example, won the last two Super Bowls behind seventh-round afterthought Isiah Pacheco. And only four times in league history has a rushing champion won a Super Bowl: Emmitt Smith three times for the Dallas Cowboys and the Denver Broncos’ Terrell Davis, the last to do it in 1998.
With offenses – and rules – migrating toward the passing game, there were no running backs selected in the first round of last month’s NFL Draft. (Texas’ Jonathon Brooks was first off the board at No. 46 overall in the second round.)
Jan 21, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco (10) rushes the ball against the Buffalo Bills in the first half of the 2024 AFC divisional round game at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco (10) rushes the ball against the Buffalo Bills in the first half of the 2024 AFC divisional round game at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
That said, teams would rather have a good running back than no, right?
Still a couple months before training camps kick off around the NFL, the analytics geeks over at Pro Football Focus have ranked the best running backs in the league. Not surprisingly, at the top of the list are San Francisco 49ers’ star Christian McCaffrey, bruiser Derrick Henry (now of the Baltimore Ravens), former league rushing leader Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts, Nick Chubb of the Cleveland Browns and second-year rising talent Bijan Robinson of the Atlanta Falcons.
The Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins each had two backs on the list.
When you have Patrick Mahomes throwing to Travis Kelce and an influx of speedy talent at receiver with the additions of Hollywood Brown and Xavier Worthy, the Chiefs won’t need Pacheco to be workhorse. Clearly, what he’s produced the last two seasons has been enough to win two championships and land him at No. 15 on PFF’s list.
15. Isiah Pacheco, Chiefs – “Pacheco runs like he’s mad at the ground for its existence. The Chiefs’ seventh-round pick from 2023 rushed for 935 yards and seven touchdowns en route to helping the team to back-to-back Super Bowl wins. Averaging 4.6 yards per carry, Pacheco earned an 82.3 grade in 2023 and tallied 11 runs of 15-plus yards. He’ll continue to be a real weapon for the Chiefs in their pursuit of immortality.”