I would not be the least bit surprised if this ends up being the last season Isiah Pacheco plays for the Kansas City Chiefs. When healthy, he has been a phenomenal player for the Chiefs out of the backfield. His skills as a seventh-rounder coming out of Rutgers quickly rendered former first-round pick out of LSU, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, useless. For the money, Pacheco was such a value play.
However, a few things happened last year that led me to believe 2025 will be his final season with the Chiefs in all likelihood. The first is that Pacheco only appeared in seven games during the regular season. The second is their former diamond in the rough in Kareem Hunt was back to his usual self filling in as the Chiefs' primary back in his absence. The third might be the upside of Carson Steele.
What I am getting at is that Steele will still be under contract heading into next offseason, while Hunt and Pacheco will be testing NFL free agency in 2026. If he plays up to his standard, Pacheco will surely make more than the $1.1 million he is slated to pull in this year. In a way, good or bad, Pacheco may price his way out of Kansas City. Of course, a lot can happen between now and then with the Chiefs.
So what are the Chiefs going to do when it comes to the evolving nature of their running back room?
Isiah Pacheco may be playing his final season with the Kansas City Chiefs
The way I see this shaking out is one of the three between Hunt, Pacheco and Steele will again emerge as the featured back. Hunt has proven to be the most talented of the three at the NFL level, but he has also be in the league considerably longer than both of them. Steele could be something, or the idea of him may not manifest into anything more than that. That is where Pacheco comes in...
I see him being able to capitalize on the middle ground in the Chiefs' running back room. Pacheco does have plenty of big-game experience on his resume. Clearly, the Chiefs trust him in a big spot, whereas that has not proven to be the case with Steele up to this point. Unfortunately, that is why I think Pacheco prices his way out of Kansas City this offseason. Somebody is going to pay him big.
The only way that I can see Kansas City being able to retain Pacheco is if he takes a bit of a hometown discount and either Hunt or Steele do not work out this season. Kansas City could just as easily let Hunt walk. They would have to cut Steele, but he would only be under contract for one more year under chump change. I would argue Kansas City might draft a running back instead next spring.
Had Pacheco been more available last year and as productive, it would help his case to stick around.