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Will Isiah Pacheco start for the Kansas City Chiefs when he returns? John Johnson breaks down the Week 10 Isiah Pacheco return timeline and fantasy football outlook.
Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco (knee) missed his team's Week 9 game against the Buffalo Bills with a knee sprain. In his place, RB Kareem Hunt took over starting duties and handled the majority of the backfield work.
This season hasn't been great for Pacheco drafters, who chose him around the fifth and sixth rounds in redraft fantasy football leagues. He's rewarded them with six games with just single-digit PPR fantasy points and zero above 13.
Considering that he was already in a committee split with Hunt, it's reasonable to be worried that the "backup" could end up taking over the starting job, even when Pacheco returns. So will this happen or will Pacheco stay as the Chiefs' RB1?
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Will Isiah Pacheco Start For The Chiefs When He Returns?
It's most likely that he will. However, any hopes of him becoming a true workhorse have been dashed over the first eight weeks of the season. We've seen him operate in the same committee he had with Hunt last year after he returned from his leg injury.
Many fantasy managers figured that Pacheco would regain workhorse status and that he was just limited in his return due to the injury, but that hasn't been the case. Instead, Hunt has played the majority of the short-yardage and goal-line situations and handled a solid amount of volume.
Kareem Hunt for 6️⃣
WASvsKC on ESPN/ABC
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/4xBwqQbuxl— NFL (@NFL) October 28, 2025
And it's paid off well for the Chiefs. Pacheco has major problems with his vision, hitting the right hole, and following his blockers. He tends to charge full speed into a gap with zero regard for how the blocks might develop. He also has a size disadvantage compared to Hunt.
Meanwhile, Hunt has done an excellent job in short-yardage situations. For the most part, he's just following his blocks, as he should be doing. And it works out well, because the Chiefs have one of the NFL's best offenses and do a great job setting blocking assignments for their offensive linemen to execute.
So yeah, Pacheco should be the "starter", which is awesome, but starter is a relative concept.
Isiah Pacheco Fantasy Football Outlook
A non-pass-catching running back that doesn't have a goal-line role, hardly gets any touchdowns, and has a lot of holes in his game isn't exactly a valuable fantasy asset. And in the games he played, Pacheco ranks as the RB46 in PPR fantasy points per game.
He's found himself on the bench in a lot of fantasy football leagues because he's more likely to lose you your week than help you win it. Of course, it's hard to find starting running backs on waivers this late in the season. It's basically impossible unless you get a head start on injury news. But Pacheco is simply a roster clogger.
Andy Reid: Let me scheme up a great play to isolate Josh Simmons on the left side as a lead blocker to get a touchdown
Isiah Pacheco: Nah I'm good pic.twitter.com/YIKgptv58c
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) September 6, 2025
The Chiefs tried to trade a fourth-round pick for New York Jets running back Breece Hall, but that deal never came to fruition. Still, it gives you a pretty good idea of what they think about their "RB1". It's hard to see anything changing in the backfield in terms of touch distribution and usage scenarios when he comes back.
He's done nothing to show he deserves a bigger role, and a better RB with similar athleticism, like Hall, could absolutely smash in this offensive system. Pacheco, meanwhile, should continue hovering around 12-15 touches per game, with most of them being rushes, and having mediocre efficiency.
The lack of pass-catching and touchdown upside makes him a good bet to score just single-digit PPR fantasy points in any given game. He's little more than a deep league desperation flex or RB spot, though you can find better production on the waiver wire than what Pacheco gives you, if you're looking for a flex.
Dumping him in 10-team leagues is probably fine, too. I'd rather use my bench space to take shots on backup running backs, quickly snagging them after hearing injury news about their starter, because the contingent upside of that situation is so much higher.
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Popular Week 10 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Week 10 searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool for Travis Etienne Jr., Kenneth Walker III, RJ Harvey, Woody Marks, Jordan Mason, Jaylen Warren, Quinshon Judkins compared to others:
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