The NFL season is quickly approaching, and fantasy drafts are in full swing. At DraftKings, you can play an array of different season-long fantasy contests.
Below, I take a look at the fantasy value of all the players in the Kansas City Chiefs’ backfield.
Kansas City Chiefs Backfield
The Chiefs are coming off a Super Bowl-losing season and are looking to get back there this year, but lift the Lombardi Trophy. Despite not being the most dominant team by the eye test last season, they kept finding ways to win games and wound up with the top seed in the AFC. That was integral in them surviving the gauntlet of the AFC playoffs. However, the Eagles just had too much talent and overwhelmed the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. The Chiefs were missing a lot of their top offensive weapons for long stretches last season. That included Isiah Pacheco in the backfield. Pacheco was expected to be one of the league’s best running backs after having a breakout 2023-24 season. However, Pacheco suffered an injury in Week 2 that caused him to miss most of the season.
With Pacheco out, the Chiefs signed Kareem Hunt from off his couch. Hunt was formerly the Chiefs’ RB1, but had spent the last five seasons in Cleveland. For a player who wasn’t on an NFL roster to start the season, Hunt came in and did a good job for the Chiefs. Even after Pacheco returned from injury, Hunt was getting a big chunk of the rushing work while Pacheco tried to get up to speed. Pacheco never really did get back to his old self last season, but after a full offseason of getting himself ready, he should have a strong 2025-26 campaign as long as he stays on the field. The Chiefs decided to keep Kareem Hunt around as Pacheco’s backup, but unless something goes wrong, it will be Pacheco getting a majority of the touches.
Running Back Handcuffs: Kareem Hunt
The Chiefs can be a hard team to predict from a fantasy perspective. The way that Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid work is that you never know where the ball is going on a given play. Travis Kelce has been the consistently reliable target for Mahomes throughout his career, but ever since Tyreek Hill left, there has not been a go-to receiver or dominant running back in Kansas City. They find ways to get the ball to many different players in creative ways, which makes them hard to predict, both for fantasy players and opposing defenses.
Despite that uncertainty, Pacheco should be a starting running back in most fantasy leagues. In 2023-24, he ranked 15th in PPR fantasy scoring, despite only playing 14 games. He isn’t going to lead the league in rushing, but he will be a consistently productive back as long as he stays healthy. However, after playing 14 games in 2023-24 and seven games last season, the health is becoming more of a concern for Pacheco. After Kareem Hunt proved to be a productive option last season and is starting this year in better shape, he is the clear handcuff choice for Pacheco. If Pacheco were to deal with injury issues again, Hunt should be ready to step in and produce at a viable level.
