Isiah Pacheco Ranked Middle-of-the-Pack Among Starting NFL Running Backs

Where does Isiah Pacheco rank among starting NFL running backs? A Pro Football Focus ranking drops Pacheco right around the middle of the league.

Feb 11, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco (10) against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco has two Super Bowl rings and more than 2,100 regular-season yards from scrimmage with 635 additional total yards in his pair of playoff runs, but how does the rest of the NFL world view KC's RB1?

Thomas Valentine of Pro Football Focus ranked the top-32 running backs in the NFL, and he ranked Pacheco just inside the top half of the starting-caliber list, landing at No. 15:

15. Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs

Pacheco runs like he’s mad at the ground for its existence. The Chiefs’ seventh-round pick from 2023 rushed for 935 yards and seven touchdowns en route to helping the team to back-to-back Super Bowl wins.
Averaging 4.6 yards per carry, Pacheco earned an 82.3 grade in 2023 and tallied 11 runs of 15-plus yards. He’ll continue to be a real weapon for the Chiefs in their pursuit of immortality.

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Running backs are difficult to evaluate in large part due to their relationship to their surroundings. In many ways, Pacheco seems like he's produced at a top-10 level during the first two years of his NFL career, but plenty of running backs would have found success in an offense captained by Patrick Mahomes and a solid offensive line. On the other hand, Pacheco was an impactful upgrade over former first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire, making Pacheco's credit well-earned as he became KC's top running weapon.

An argument could be made for Pacheco hopping all the way to No. 10, with backs 10 through 14 (Josh Jacobs, Travis Etienne, Kenneth Walker III, Raheem Mostert, Tony Pollard) having reasonable knocks from their 2023 seasons or concerns for 2024. I would have liked to see more of Valentine's Pacheco-specific evaluation, because the 25-year-old back certainly still has room to grow.

Pacheco showed flashes of improved patience as a runner in his second year and earned more trust as a pass-catcher, jumping from 13 receptions as a rookie to 44 catches in his second year. If Pacheco can improve his vision in year three and continue to fine-tune the details, his top-10 status may not be in doubt by the end of the year.

Read More: Is the Chiefs' Running Back Depth Chart Good Enough?