Why Fantasy Football Managers Should Trade Isiah Pacheco Before His Value Drops

Fantasy football managers should trade Isiah Pacheco now as his Chiefs workload shrinks and his value risks dropping fast.

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco (10) runs the ball during the first half against the Chicago Bears at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes to be specific, had 39 pass attempts in Week 1 for 258 yards and a touchdown. Over a full season, that’d be 663 attempts. Last year, Mahomes averaged about 36 per game. The Chiefs also ran the ball 17 times, well below their 2024 average of 26.4 carries per game.

Why Trading Isiah Pacheco Is A Good Idea

Fantasy football managers could tolerate 17 rushes per game if most of them were going to Isiah Pacheco, but that simply wasn’t the case. Mahomes actually led the Chiefs in carries last week, toting the rock six times for 57 yards and a touchdown. That’s certainly an outlier performance for him, but Pacheco and Kareem Hunt each had five carries and three targets. That’s about as 50-50 as a shared backfield can get.

With Pacheco, we’re more or less hoping the Chiefs settle into the gold zone a couple times per game and he gets the goal-line touches. In 2023, Pacheco had 50 red zone touches, seventh-most in the league. The problem is that the fantasy opportunities are just too sparse now. Last year, which was cut short by injuries, didn’t produce many notable stats for Pacheco managers to hang their hat on. Entering Week 2, we’re essentially talking about a flex play better suited for standard leagues.

Unless there’s a significant increase in his snaps, which again were at 50% in Week 1, there’s not enough fantasy upside to merit much optimism. Our very own fantasy football extraordinaire Matt Brandon has Pacheco at the RB30 in half-PPR. That’s probably fair, but with a little negotiation, you can likely find a fellow league manager who fondly remembers Pacheco’s 2023 season and is willing to pay up a bit for his services via trade.

Kareem Hunt Continues To Siphon Pacheco's Touches

Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt (29) against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The elephant in the room is named Kareem Hunt, and while his fantasy outlook isn’t much better, each back is effectively cannibalizing the other. Hunt can contribute in all three phases as a runner, pass-catcher and blocker. He can handle running routes, short-yardage situations and goal-line work. There are simply too many speed bumps impeding a path for Pacheco to have a meaningful, defined role with the Chiefs--much less one that can produce fantasy results.

Possible Trade Targets For Isiah Pacheco Managers

You might consider trading for Dallas’ Javonte Williams, who carries more risk, but appears to have a larger share of the backfield, despite the eventual return of Jaydon Blue and presence of Miles Sanders. Another option to consider is Washington’s Jacory Croskey-Merritt. He only had 33% of the snaps, but produced big when he was on the field by rushing for 82 yards and a score on 10 carries.

Pacheco likely won’t be a full-blown bust, but he already appears to be falling short of his preseason mid-20s ADP.