The Chiefs were hopeful that running back Isiah Pacheco would be able to return from his knee injury after their Week 10 bye, but he hasn’t been able to return to practice. If Pacheco isn’t ready for Sunday’s road game against the Broncos, how does that impact the fantasy football upside of Kareem Hunt and Brashard Smith?
Let’s take a look at the latest on Pacheco’s injury and how the backfield timeshare could play out if he’s out of the picture in Week 11.
Isiah Pacheco Injury Update
Pacheco was inactive in Week 9 after taking a hit to the side of his right knee towards the end of Week 8’s win over Washington. He was diagnosed with an MCL sprain but avoided any long-term significant injury.
The team was optimistic that he could return after their bye week, and coach Andy Reid said he even wanted to go back into that game against the Commanders, but his knee is still not quite ready for him to resume practicing, making it likely that he misses Week 11. If he is out, his next chance to return would be in Week 12 at home against the Colts. In Week 13, the Chiefs have a Thanksgiving Day contest against the Cowboys, which obviously presents a short week.
Kareem Hunt Fantasy Football Outlook
In Week 9 without Pacheco, Hunt played 47 snaps (78%) against the Bills. He ran for 49 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries and caught a six-yard pass on his two targets.
The veteran running back has six touchdowns on the year and has posted over 12 fantasy points in three of his last five contests, including his 12.5 fantasy points against the Bills.
He doesn’t offer an extremely high ceiling, but his goal line work is enough to make him a FLEX option if you’re stretched thin at the position due to bye weeks, injuries or ineffectiveness.
Brashard Smith Fantasy Football Outlook
Rookie Brashard Smith will also get more work if Pacheco is out, and the converted receiver has a higher ceiling than Hunt, even though his floor is much lower.
Smith played 12 snaps in Week 9 (20%), but only had three carries for seven yards, and failed to haul in his only target. He did show some sizzle in Week 7, getting more work as the Chiefs blew out the Raiders, and he finished that game with 14 carries for 39 yards along with five catches for 42 yards and a season-high 13.1 fantasy points.
He’s still looking for his first NFL touchdown, and he hasn’t played more than 35% of snaps in any game. Even that 35% workload was in a blowout, so expecting him to get 50% of the spans this week seems like a stretch.
It’s possible the team spent the bye week building the game plan around him, but it seems much more likely that he’ll continue to be a change-of-pace and passing down specialist for the Chiefs. There have been rumors about his increased involvement for several weeks now, but they haven’t actually resulted in much on-field production.
The Bottom Line
The Chiefs are in a tough matchup this week against the Broncos, who have only allowed the fifth-fewest fantasy points to running backs. They’ve allowed eight running back touchdowns in their 10 games, along with an average of 78 rushing yards and 29.4 receiving yards. Hunt has a high floor as a FLEX play, but remains very touchdown-dependent. Smith is a high-risk play with his uncertain role. Neither is a “must-start” even if Pacheco is out in standard-sized leagues.
The divisional matchup is part of a good late wave on Sunday afternoon, and is one of the more exciting matchups on the main DFS fantasy football slate, highlighted by the NFL $2.5M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st]. In that format, Smith is a bargain flier at $4,100 — just over the minimum salary — while Hunt is at $5,200. He can be used as a solid value running back since the other options in that salary range are a little more volatile. However, his upside is so limited that he isn’t a must-play in that format either, since he almost has to find the end zone to be productive.
