Fantasy Football Impact: Isiah Pacheco is Week-to-Week With an MCL Sprain
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Monday Night Football came and went and the Chiefs looks absolutely phenomenal. If they can add a premier running back before the trade deadline, a fourth Super Bowl is absolutely in play. Speaking of running backs, the Chiefs saw Isiah Pacheco go down with an injury and they will now shift their attention to Kareem Hunt and Brashard Smith. This will surely fuel trade rumors even further. We will review the outlook of this run game going forward.
Fantasy Football Impact
Isiah Pacheco goes down and the lead back duty will now be handed over to Hunt. Here is how this run-game has split up this season: Pacheco (35% Rushes), Hunt (28% Rushes), Smith (11% Rushes), Mahomes (Scrambling - 20% Rushes).
We can now expect Hunt to be the majority back and he will surely pick up a large slice of that 35% pie. Our new projection could look like: Hunt (55-60% Rushes), Smith (20-25% Rushes), balance to Mahomes. We may see Elijah Mitchell earn active status, but given his lacking playing time, he will likely lack a ton of carries, >10%. He is not a deep-stash candidate at this point. It is likely that Kansas City makes a trade before it got to that point.
Kareem Hunt in 8 games without Isiah Pacheco last year:
— Jared Smola (@SmolaDS) October 28, 2025
59% snap rate
41% route rate
19.4 carries per game
2.8 targets per game
RB3 in expected PPR PPG
RB19 in actual PPR PPG
Hunt has been the clear goal line running back. He has 13-of-43 red zone carries on the team. However, Hunt has 4-of-5 running back touchdowns in the red zone. The Chiefs trust him and he will own the majority role with low risk.
As for Smith, he has been stated to be trending up in this offense, but it has not resulted in much. He saw an increase snap-load of 35% in Week 7, but that was marked up to being a result of a blowout. Smith played just 13% of snaps in Week 8. He is not breaking out any big plays. He is not a threat to Hunt.
Stock Watch
Kareem Hunt is a solid RB2.
Brashard Smith lacks much value. Even as a handcuff, we prefer the long-term value of Pacheco returning or a trade being made.
Elijah Mitchell lacks handcuff value as Pacheco is not a long-term injury.
Isiah Pacheco is Week-to-Week with MCL Sprain
Pacheco suffered an MCL sprain in Week 8. After the play in which he appeared to be injured, he actually returned to the game. Nonetheless, he is hurt. An MCL sprain can range anywhere from 1-2 weeks up to 6 weeks. The severity is unknown, but given the fact that he returned to the game, and his week-to-week status, we can assume it is the lighter 2-3 weeks timeframe, if not even less.
Pacheco will almost definitely be out versus the Bills in Week 9. As stated above, Hunt is the biggest beneficiary. Pacheco should remain in your IR slot, but he is a player with high-risk. If Hunt thrives in Week 9, his role can increase. Worse yet, the Chiefs are heavily involved in trade rumors for a running back, such as Breece Hall and Jerome Ford, among others.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.