Pacheco is fueled by New Jersey roots
LAS VEGAS — At yet another Super Bowl with a very Scarlet feel, it’s Isiah Pacheco’s star who is shining the brightest.
Set to face fellow Rutgers alums and Logan Ryan and Sebastian Joseph-Day on the big stage, it’s the second-year Kansas City Chiefs running back who’s emerged as one of the National Football League’s most exciting young players, not far removed from setting the foundation for it all in Piscataway.
It wasn’t always that obvious to everyone, however. The 24-yearold Vineland native lasted until the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft — he was taken just 11 spots ahead of Brock Purdy at 251st overall — and reflected on that journey during the team’s final media availability of the week at their team hotel.
“Seventh round pick, it was a great feeling,” Pacheco said. “Being wanted, that meant a lot for me to get picked up by the Kansas City Chiefs, which is now home. That’s why I leave it out there, give it all you got, every single moment.”
Pacheco has collected 2,139 all-purpose yards over his first two years in the league, and is behind just Kenneth Walker III among running backs in his draft class with 1,765 rushing yards thus far.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid called Pacheco a “violent runner” during one of his mid-week press conferences, comparing him to long-time San Francisco 49ers standout back Roger Craig. Kansas City’s running backs coach, Todd Pinkston, was able to dig deeper into exactly what it is that makes the second-year back so effective.
“I think it’s preparation,” Pinkston said. “I always talk about the five P’s I learned in college, and I’ve told him too, ‘proper preparation prevents poor performance.’ You go out there and prepare yourself the best way you can, it’ll show up on the field, and you can see that with him right now.”
“You can tell he’s gotten better and better, he’s a great route runner, he can catch the ball out of the backfield and he’s explosive when he gets the ball in his hands. When you watch him and see him develop from last year to this year, his role is bigger, so he’s taken strides and taken advantage of every opportunity he can.”