Remember when just being part of the Chiefs’ offense was enough to be relevant in fantasy football? Heck, remember when Isiah Pacheco was a fringe first-round pick in season-long formats not that long ago? It’s wild to think about all that now. Yes, Kansas City is fresh on the heels of dropping 37 points on the Ravens, but that type of elite scoring performance has been far from the norm for awhile now.
Nowhere has the team’s lack of point production been more felt than in the running back room. Neither Pacheco or Kareem Hunt have been all that noteworthy so far in 2025, with both of the RBs having failed to even register a 50-yard performance at any point through four weeks. Heck, Patrick Mahomes is currently leading the Chiefs in rushing yards (130) and rushing touchdowns (2). Let that sink in for a moment.
Can either Pacheco or Hunt get back on track and have an impact on Monday Night Football?
Isiah Pacheco & Kareem Hunt Fantasy Outlook
The real question isn’t about which one of these two RBs is more viable than the other, it’s if there’s any real point in rostering any Kansas City running back at all. As mentioned above, Mahomes has been the best rushing option on this team across four games and he’s also been the fantasy asset with the highest expected rushing touchdown rate, as the QB is tied with Hunt for the most red zone carries (6).
Here’s another way to think about this. The Chiefs have scored 10 offensive touchdowns so far this season. 70% of those have been passing scores, while two of the three rushing TDs have been by Mahomes. That doesn’t leave much leftover for running backs — especially running backs in a full-on committee. Hunt might have a couple more carries and Pacheco might have a few more targets, but at the end of the day, the former has 41 touches for 151 scrimmage yards, while the latter has 38 touches for 153 scrimmage yards. Pacheco’s logged a 50.0% snap share. Hunt’s just behind him at 41.7%.
The other thing to think about here is matchup. Jacksonville’s defense has been spectacular so far this season, ranking first in the AFC in EPA per play. The Jaguars are also one of nine teams conceding fewer than 4.0 yards per opponent rush attempt and they’re allowing the 10th-fewest FPTS per game to opposing RBs. They held Christian McCaffrey to 49 yards on 17 attempts in Week 4. They held Chase Brown to 47 yards on 16 attempts in Week 2.
I’d be unhappy starting a quality RB2 against Jacksonville right now, let alone the low-end RB3 options that both Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt have become. Hunt might have a little “touchdown or bust” value in DFS slates like tonight’s $1.5M Monday Night Showdown contest on DraftKings, but that’s really only due to his salary inexplicably being $2,000 lower than Pacheco’s. Otherwise, avoid this positional group entirely, if possible.
