Rutgers running back is Kansas City Chiefs’ penultimate ’22 pick in Saturday’s 7th round
Isiah Pacheco, a running back from Rutgers, was the Chiefs’ second seventh-round selection and penultimate pick overall in the waning minutes of the NFL Draft on Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas.
Pacheco led the Scarlet Knights in rushing in each of last three seasons. In four years, he rushed for a total of 2,442 yards and 4.3 yards per carry. He ran for 18 touchdowns and added another as a receiver.
He’s the first running back drafted by the Chiefs since Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who was the team’s first-round pick out of LSU in 2020.
Other Chiefs running backs on the roster include Edwards-Helaire, Derrick Gore and Ronald Jones II, who spent his first four years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but signed a free-agent contract with the Chiefs in March.
“Coming in the door, ready to give 120 percent, competing and willing to take another grown man’s job,” Pacheco said. “I’m definitely excited about blocking for Patrick Mahomes.”
Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said recently he believes this running back depth in this draft was so deep it would produce a 1,000-yard rusher from the late rounds or from an undrafted free agent.
“Coming to compete early at the next level with a good offensive line is big time for me,” said Pacheco, who ran a 4.37-second 40 at the NFL Combine.
A 1,000-yard season from a rookie?
“I would not bet against this young man,” said Cassidy Kaminsky, the Chiefs scout who oversees the Northeast. “He’s tough, hard-nosed, physical, doesn’t shy away from contact.”
This story was originally published April 30, 2022 at 6:02 PM.