The Kansas City Chiefs received a boost to their search for their third consecutive Super Bowl as Isiah Pacheco has returned to the field. The Rutgers product suffered a fibula fracture in Week 2 which kept him out for the next nine games.
In his absence, the Chiefs brought back Kareem Hunt who primarily filled the role of the most productive running back in the backfield. Across his nine games with the team, Hunt ran for 592 yards and found the end zone five times.
The Chiefs are set to face off with the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football this week and enter with an 11-1 record. With the backfield battle providing some problems for fantasy football owners, here is a look at the outlook for Isiah Pacheco in Week 14.
Analysis
In the opening week of the season, Pacheco tallied 15 rush attempts for 45 yards and a touchdown. He followed this up in Week 2 with 19 carries for 90 yards but did not reach the end zone. While he seemed the clear-cut bellcow back at this point, the situation has changed with Kareem Hunt in the mix.
Hunt received 14 or more carries in every game without Pacheco, and recorded 59 or more rushing yards in all but one game. He also rushed for 100+ yards in two separate games.
In the first game with the pair of running backs active, both were involved in the offense. Last week against the Raiders, Pacheco tallied seven carries for 44 yards and added one catch for five yards. Hunt also received seven carries but was only able to convert this to 15 rushing yards. He was unable to pull in either of his two targets and neither running back made their way into the end zone.
To add to the concern, the Chargers have a tough defense the Chiefs are set to face. Los Angeles is holding opponents to the fewest points per game on the season. Their rushing defense has been slightly less concerning, ranking 14th in rushing yards allowed and third in rushing touchdowns given up, but they will make life difficult on Kansas City overall.
Bottom Line
If you are in a pinch, there are worse options than Isiah Pacheco. However, expectations should be adjusted for the Chiefs running back moving forward.
Based on DraftKings scoring, Pacheco was held to 5.9 fantasy points last week which ranked 48th among running backs. For reference, Kareem Hunt produced just 3.5 fantasy points which ranked 56th among running backs last week.
The more productive running back may be just about entirely dictated by who gets the red zone opportunities. There is not enough of a sample size to fully declare this yet, but both running backs received one rush attempt in the red zone last week.
Seek other options until there is a clearer hierarchy in the Chiefs’ backfield, but the unfortunate reality is this may just be a backfield-by-committee moving forward. Even while serving mostly as the bell-cow running back last year, Pacheco finished as the 15th-ranked running back in fantasy football output.
Temper your expectations for the time being and this week may be much more telling on how the team views the outlook moving forward. If Pacheco is penciled in as a key part of your fantasy football team, your best bet is to weigh you waiver wire options.
Start or Sit Isiah Pacheco? Sit.
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